amjamin

published: Monday | September 15, 2008 Two years after coming to Jamaica from India, Ajitesh Sharma, is settled in his adopted country. "Right, my yute?" - photo by Amitabh Sharma Little Ajitesh was five years old as we prepared to board the early morning British Airways flight to London on the way to Kingston, Jamaica. It was July 2006. We did not know anything about the land, only that it was a place where great cricketers are born (coming from a cricket-crazed nation, India, Courtney Walsh and Sabina Park were Jamaica). A void Leaving the motherland created mixed feelings, especially the void caused by loved ones left behind. Ajitesh was the first grandchild in the family, and had been constantly surrounded by either of the grandparents. It was a big blow in his life, suddenly finding himself with no companion to pamper him and listen to his endless gibberish. Losing friends was another issue; for months he would remember hi...

Published: Monday | May 11, 2009 "Any man can be a father, but it takes a special person to be a dad", goes an adage; a poignant reminder that merely fathering a child does not make one a father in the real sense. It is about shouldering responsibilities and caring and nurturing the child, an area where many men are falling short. Kinsley Kelly grew up in a fatherless home and always yearned to call someone Dad. "I used to see my friends, they were so happy," he recalls, "I realised, they had a thing called father." When he was 14, he sat down and made a choice. "I noticed that men in my family were just babyfathers ... they were good uncles but lousy fathers, only one uncle got married, his children came out to be better. "That day I made a decision to change," Kelly, a certified cabinetmaker turned evangelist, said. Kelly, now 38, is married, and has a six-year old daughter. He is proud that he has been able...