Avia Collinder, Gleaner Writer

After what Odette Dyer of Montego Bay did for her son, Veveta Edwards of Big Lane in Central Village, St Catherine, states, "I believe that there are true angels walking among us here on earth. I have proof of that."

Dyer was the woman who answered her plea to send her son, Alvin Edwards, a student of Campion College, to the Global Young Leaders Conference in the United States this past summer.

Lifetime experience

In July, the young man - boarding an airplane for the first time and staying at the Sheraton Hotel in Washington and Manhattan College in New York - enjoyed the company of many students from around the world during leadership seminars, and visited places which many Jamaicans have only seen on television.

"What Mrs Dyer did for my son will last him a lifetime. He went to a place that, before, was only a dream," Mrs Edwards states.

Alvin is a high-performing student at Campion College who, at the end of fifth form, secured 10 subjects with five distinctions and five credits in the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Ordinary Level examinations. For the sixth former, who now has his sights set on being a computer engineer, his mother wants the best of everything.

Alvin had brought much pleasure into Mrs Edwards' life with his constant achievements, which ranged from Sunday school to the classroom.

But, in 2007 when Alvin first received the invitation to attend the Global Young Leaders Conference, she threw away the letter as she did not have the money to send him.

In 2008, the letter came again.

The programme promised to expand her son's cultural awareness and "cultivate inherent leadership skills" during interaction with top students of more than 100 countries.

He would also visit foreign embassies, "meet high-ranking diplomatic officials, participate in cultural exchanges and retrace the footsteps of former rulers during visits to historic seats of power".

For Mrs Edwards of Big Lane, the desire on her son's face when he read about the programme was torture. She recalls, "This time, I did not throw the letter away."

Edwards wrote to Betty Ann Blaine on NationwideRadio, who read the letter on air.

According to Dyer, wife of former hotelier and current tourism consultant Godfrey Dyer, "I was home one morning and my husband listens to these talk shows so I tuned in. Betty Ann Blaine came on and I heard the latter part of a letter she was reading. The family was from inner-city St Catherine and the son was going to Campion. I thought, 'how good that an inner-city child had gotten into Campion'.

"He had gotten accepted to go to this programme abroad and the mother was pleading. I am involved in finding scholarships for children and am very passionate about education. It is what is going to move this country forward. There is so much talent in Jamaica, and some of these kids only need the opportunity."

No hesitation

Dyer did not hesitate. She made her calls to verify that the student's story was a real one, and then began to spread the news among her friends that Alvin needed help.

Mrs Edwards told Outlook, "Mrs Dyer called to say she had heard about Alvin and that her birthday was coming up, so she told her friends not to give her any gifts for her birthday. She would instead accept money so that she could send Alvin to the conference.

"My angel not only raised the money, but also shopped overseas for him, as well as giving him pocket money to spend while at the conference. She registered Alvin for the conference using her credit card, and took care of all the arrangements."

In all, the conference expenses cost Dyer more that US$3,000. She also went abroad to buy clothes for him.

Alvin told Outlook that he was very nervous about travelling for the first time. But, he says that the two-week stay in Washington, DC, and New York was a life-changing experience for him.

"There were 400 students from all over the world. We were placed in different groups to work. We discussed leadership and we prepared for a Global Summit simulation, looking at such issues as weapons of mass destruction and health."

Alvin notes, "I gained a lot of communication skills. We also visited the World Bank headquarters and the US Department of State where speakers addressed us. At the World Bank, the speaker spoke on issues of poverty and how we could help.

At the US Department of State, they spoke about the war in Iraq and how it was affecting the rest of the world.

"We also visited the US Holocaust Memorial and the United Nations headquarters in New York."

Alvin adds that the entire experience has built hisself-confidence.

"Everyone had to address the conference at some point. I spoke to the issues from a Jamaican perspective. I am now more confident in everything I do. I don't want to be a prime minister, but I believe I can influence others positively."

His mother notes that Alvin has gained many friends and they email him every day, some inviting him to visit their country.

She says that Odette Dyer was very pleased with Alvin's experience, and when he came back from the conference, "she made sure that he finished off the summer with some work. She visited him at school and encouraged him to do well in his studies."

Help inner-city youngsters

When Veveta asked Odette why she was doing all of this for Alvin, she was told that "she liked when young people in the inner-city community hold their heads up".

Odette Dyer told Outlook "Alvin still calls and I call to see how he is doing. He thoroughly enjoyed it (the leadership conference). It was a very good experience for him. I did it because he was a child coming from a poor background with such potential and the fact that his mother was pleading. I know it was something he wanted.

"Having travelled the world and given my own children a certain kind of exposure, I knew it could only be an asset for him. I wanted him to have it, seeing that he so badly craved it."

The mother of two boys, one of whom just completed college abroad, Odette adds, "I wish I could export more Jamaican children. The talent is here. It's just the resource to send them there. They would do just as well as my son."

Airfare for Alvin to travel was provided by Betty Ann Jones-Kerr and workers from the accounting and auditing firm KPMG in Kingston, and Andy Daswani of the Royal Shop in Montego Bay also assisted.

Alvin, who is now in year two in sixth form at Campion College, is doing Cape (Caribbean Examinations Council advanced level subjects) computer science, communication studies, accounts and Cape pure mathematics, and hopes to get a scholarship to attend university.

Obedient and caring boy

His mother is keeping her fingers crossed, noting that "I have never had a problem with him. At Campion, he is captain of the science club and also assists with the school's homework centre for inner-city kids."

Looking at a wall of certificates in her living room, during this interview, his mother boasted, "The boy bad you see man."

Veveta and Alvin's father, Malachi Edwards, a carpenter, and sister Audrey - a business management student at the University of the West Indies - are all cheering him on. They say thanks to Odette Dyer, who listened to a mother's plea.

LEFT: Odette Dyer
RIGHT: The young student does well in school and in the community.