For the many children who walk through the doors of the Annie Dawson Children’s Home in St Andrew, founder and executive director Ivlaine Nickie is simply known as “mom.”
In a recent interview with OBSERVER ONLINE, the 71-year-old woman stated that she had spent the majority of her life working with children. Nickie knew she wanted to help protect the welfare of some of Jamaica’s most disadvantaged youngsters when she retired in 2013.
“I live with my children right here.” I don’t leave for home at 4 p.m. and return at 9 p.m. “They weren’t afraid to run and beat down my door if one was having a seizure or fever, or if one was uncomfortable or having a bad dream,” Nickie added.
Nickie’s long-standing interest for assisting children started from witnessing her parents back in St Vincent and the Grenadines, who “always had lots and lots of children at our home.”
“When I was growing up in St Vincent and the Grenadines, there were no children’s homes.” They’ve probably been around two years since then. But they [her parents] always had a lot of children who weren’t truly theirs. They were constantly accepting children. And my parents were exceptional in that they treated the children they took in the same way they treated us, their own children. “And they made it abundantly clear that we were to treat them as if they belonged,” she stated.
Despite being a St Vincent and the Grenadines native, Nickie has worked and lived in Jamaica since she was 22 years old. She described this country as her adoptive home, with the most of her work emphasizing the welfare of children.
“I’ve been involved with children as a result of the work I’ve done over the years.” My first employment was as a teacher and guidance counselor at St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Emmanuel High School. Then I relocated to Jamaica and began working in development with several organizations, which brought me all throughout the Caribbean and Central America. “I’ve chaired the Caribbean NGO [non-governmental organization] Quality Development Centre, based in Barbados, as well as a number of other regional networks involving children, women, the environment, and youth,” Nickie explained.
Nickie, now an elderly woman, said that being a mother to the 27 children in her care means “just being there to give guidance, support, and nurture them.”
“For someone who has never given birth, some might ask, ‘What does she know about mothering?'” But to me, it is the giving of love, the nurturing, the presence when the child [needs you], the presence in difficult moments. “Really just helping, not manipulating, but helping the child chart his or her own course in life and maximize his or her potential in the best way possible,” Nickie explained, adding that while she does not have biological children, she does have one adopted child and two foster children.
(BY CANDICE HAUGHTON)
