By Francis Quamina Farrier
AT age 101, Hilton Lewis is among the oldest men in Guyana. Familiarly addressed as “Champ”, he is also one of the best-known Guyanese centenarians. Today, we throw the spotlight on this retired sports educator in observance of the Day of the Elderly, which was observed on October 1, 2022. Uncle of former Commissioner of Police, the late Laurie Lewis, centenarian Hilton Lewis is still mobile, and enjoying reasonably good health. During his long and productive life, Hilton Lewis has given and passed on lots of his own knowledge and experiences to younger Guyanese, especially in track and field.

Since life itself could be equated with life and living and contributing to society, then the decades-long sports coaching that Hilton Lewis has given to dozens and dozens of youngsters over the years can be equated to contributing to the nation’s ongoing development, practically.  Sadly, there are those Guyanese, fortunately not so many, who seem to miss the point regarding elder citizens, and would say, “he old” or “she old”, implying that at their stage in life, it is a minus for the individual who is beyond a certain age, and not considering the contributions which such citizens have made to the nation and continue to make, even though of a lesser amount.

Some years ago, a phrase was coined, “Age is just a number.” That is certainly something for Hilton Lewis and hundreds of Guyanese who are in their golden years, and are continuing to make their contributions to society can latch on to; a growing number, who, like Hilton Lewis, are 65 and older. Some are even centenarians.
The question certainly is: Why is there this divide between some of the young citizens and the elderly here in Guyana, and being promoted by the few? Is that not counter to the new motto of, “One Guyana?” If Guyanese agree that there is no divide, then this article will conclude right now. Unfortunately, there are issues to go into before its proper conclusion. If the negative is the fact that some elders overstay their welcome in certain positions of authority, be they private or public, then such persons need to be advised to recognise that it is time for them to step aside and allow younger individuals with fresh and more progressive ideas to get in the leadership positions.

Younger ones with the necessary physical and mental energies are needed for certain positions, while there are other positions which are better occupied by mature and experienced persons. Organisations, including governments, need young minds to make fresh decisions. Guyana has been afforded such in 2020, with a government headed by a president in his mid-40s.

In a previous article, I mentioned that President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, who is age 42 at this time, is exactly half my age. Nonetheless, I find having discussions with him somewhat stimulating; they readily and easily dovetail the past and the present, and clearly display that times gone should not be lost forever, but rather a means of knowing, to some degree, what to plan and expect in the future. Yes, things and times do change, but they are hardly ever totally unconnected. For example, Guyana’s current test cricketers can learn from the history of the game as played, let’s say, 20 years ago and even longer. Recently, I wrote an article in which I featured Sir Clive Lloyd and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, AA, two Guyanese test cricketers born in August. While the two Guyanese test players were of different eras, fans who enjoyed them both in performance on the field recognise that their different times and even styles of playing the game contributed meaningfully to Guyana’s cricketing history and glory.

Centenarian Hilton Lewis is of a different generation than the majority of his fellow Guyanese, but exactly because he has been around for so long and has seen and experienced so much of Guyana’s history, first-hand, he is positioned to give lots of his take, if you will, on the pulse of the country, and how best to deal with many of the challenges we face as a nation.

We are not saying that Hilton Lewis being 101 years of age makes him someone who has all the answers to the myriad of challenges that our country faces, but he can certainly give some reasonably good suggestions in a number of areas. Other Golden-agers are similarly gifted. Let’s not be so silly as to say, “he old”, and dismiss him and other Golden-agers totally out-of-hand. Let’s be smart enough to accept that, as the saying goes, “the older the violin, the sweeter the tune.” There is the other Guyanese saying, “New broom can sweep clean, but old broom knows all the corners.”

Actress and community activist, the late Mignon Lowe had established a “Youth serving the elderly” group at Grove, on the East Bank of Demerara some years ago. A number of the Youths would run errands such as doing shopping for Elders. Fetching water and other such errands. Each youth was assigned to an elder, who was served with dedication, respect and honesty.

Most elders do not like to consider themselves as a burden to society; as such, whatever help is given to them must not be done in such a way as to take away their dignity as human beings. Most youths who give their free service to elders are known to do so with love and respect. However, there are those elders like Hilton Lewis who do not have the need for such assistance as yet. Even at 101, Hilton Lewis is blessed with enough physical and mental strength to get things done for himself. What a blessing!