The Year We Were Forced To Stay Home

The twin year's arrows

My mother's ordeal continued

When I forced my swollen eyes to open. I was lying on the same bed I tried to escape from.  Apparently someone had moved me from the floor which I had no memory of. It means I had passed out again. I also realized that the excruciating pain in my stomach had lessened bearable. I was hooked up to the iv again and the oxygen mask was over my face. I was also breathing better. I still had that underlying fear that it would all come back again. It was the worst days in all my 57 years. I would never wish such pain on my greatest enemy.   It was a horrible time. I took a moment to give  thanks and to breathe a word of prayer. God's mercies had kept me. There is no other way I could have overcomed last night. I was at death's door. Tears silently flowed down my cheek. I just kept repeating the 23rd Psalm. This was a testemony.

(end of Mother's ordeal)

Two days later my mom was released from the hospital with medicines  to
begin her fourteen days quarantine at her home.
She called my brother to pick her up. I mentioned to him about the necessary precautions in transporting a patient and he was already one step a head of me. Armed in his mask and gloves he went to pick her up. Being careful not to hug her . She sat in the back and did not say much . She was just looking tired and stressed.  She even looked thin.
When she got home my brother did not go in ,he had already pre-prepared for her arrival before he picked her up. There was an abundance of food and essentials that she would need on the counters and on the floor so he bid his goodbye and went to work. For the next few days he would put stuffed through her window that she would call him about. No one was allowed inside her apartment.  All communication was though this window. This tiny basement window.

Meanwhile in Jamaica things had escalated. The numbers rose from 69 on April 12 to 105 on April 13. People began to panic. Some became violent to persons who had a cough or sneeze . One man was thrown off a bus because he coughed among the passengers.  One man became a stabbing victim because of the same cough. All of a sudden a regular sneeze and cough was becoming a problem.  You would get the side eye or you could see the slight movement to be a few distance apart when these offenses were committed ,because ofcourse in the eyes of the ignorant man, these were offensive crimes. It was an unfriendly time to live in. People's ignorance caused them to be mean and vicious.

Everyone was impacted by this great beast of a disease.

The high school students were in trouble. If you were not performing at your best at the very beginning  on entering then what would your performance be at the end of your final school year.

The CXC {Caribbean Examination Council) was one of the most sort after examinations done in the Caribbean. It was as big or even bigger than the GCE exams taken in England. This is where you learnt if your five years at high school was wasted or you had secured the beginning of a bright future.

Hundreds of thousands of students sit these exams starting at the beginning of May. It is not a free exam. One of these exams cost is in the range of $6000 or US55.
Students usually take up to 13 of these exams depending on their ability or the field of work they would like to study  in the Universities.

A future doctor would study the Sciences while a future lawyer would study the Arts. A future teacher needs 5 of these exams to enter the Teachers Colleges. English and Mathematics were definately a must to enter these Institutions. High school was no joke . The good thing is if you failed them then you have multiple choices to resit them. Why waste time though when you had the opportunity now. If you left high school without these subjects it was very difficult to obtain a good future job.Hence the reason for the high crime rate.

The Virus caused a great delay on these exams . The Heads could not come up with a solution. It was posponed for June then again in July. The frustration and the panic was real. No one wanted to fail . Usually there would be time between these exams. Maybe a day or week so you could take a breather. That possibility was looking dull. It would have to be back to back sittings.

Not only were the high schoolers in trouble but the Primary Schools too. Primary schools age ranges from 6 yrs  to 12 yrs old. At the end of your six year you are expected to take what is known as the PEP( Primary Exit Profile) exams . Actually 5% of this exam is usually taken at Grade 4. It means that if you failed this 5% you only have 95 % of your grades left. School was no joke in Jamaica. We had traditional high schools which were the top achievers in the island.  Parents had the option to choose which school of their choice they wanted their child but the Education Ministry was the one that placed the children. They were placed according to their ability and their test scores from their PEP exams. If the child was Highly proficient in all the subject areas then the parent would get their first choice  of school. If not then it was left up to the Ministry.
Many Jamaican looked forward to this time. It would either break you or pushed you to help your child more. It was the best feeling when your child was able to attend one of the traditional high schools. Even though all the high schools curriculum was the same ,these school had a wider array of activities , had a good reputation and always pushed to be the best.
Some children were getting the opportunity to study / review online but every child was not being reached. Not everyone was privileged to have wifi connections. Data service was expensive and not many could afford this. Even some of the teachers began complaining about high rise in their internet bill since the online work began. It means that some of our children would not get a fair opportunity.  It was a troubling thought. These exams were also postponed until August.
August was the time these children would have been placed in high school from June and parents would have been doing their last minute back to school shopping . It was a big change for everyone.  There was no graduation with their friends and family's. No last time to wear their uniforms dressed in their traditional school graduating gowns. No hairstyle to look the best on that day. No clapping and shouting from the audience on their achievements. No last word from the Principal and Guest speaker about what to expect in high school. Nothing at all .Jamaicans  were cultured to be graduation lovers.This was the worst time of the year. I can only imagine what these children were feeling. Confusion,displacement,worry and fear were not emotions you wanted to take to any exams. We were being pierced with sharp arrows because of this dreadful disease but we were determined to survive.