Thirty-year old Kumakie Parris, who grew up in Stoney Ground, Anguilla, is a fine example of how a young man can change from a life of negative behaviour to one of positive living, influence and valuable assistance to his contemporaries and the community.
Parris, who openly speaks about his past involvement in drugs and gang violence, isa noted passionate Christian youth worker seeking to change the lives of other youngsters who have gone astray. Now,in order to do so more effectively, he has gone off to university, with the help of some good Samaritans, to study psychology.
“I went to the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School. I lived a life which, instead of pleasing myself, I wanted to fit in with everybody else,” he told The Anguillian before leaving the island on Wednesday, August 21, to commence his studies. “That led me to get into drugs and gangs. I was involved in violence and was shot – but when I started working at Cap Juluca I decided to change my life and have a positive mind-set. I slowly drifted away from the whole negative life, got married, went to culinary school and started on a path to making myself a better person.”
Kumakie, who later established his own culinary business called Creative Cuisine, and was able to take time off as he wished, continued: “About two years ago, I felt led to work with young people. I went into the prison to share my culinary skills and that led to further contacts with prisoners. Every other Sunday I took part in the prison ministry of the church – the Faith Dominion Centre. I had two prisoners into my mentorship programme trying to show them that there is a different way of life. I gave motivational speeches in the high school and I worked with the Juvenile Centre teaching life skills and conflict resolution.
“While doing all of that a passion grew within me andafter researching some schools, I went to Tampa, Florida, and was accepted at Argosy University – a school of psychology. There is a broader base of psychology there and it fitted in with exactly what I wanted to do. So my concentrations are Criminal Psychology and Child Adolescent Behaviour. I hope, later on, to do my Masters in Clinical Psychology.
“My studies will enable me to come back and work with young Anguillians. I will be able, from the Government’s perspective, to be in the system rather than being a sole individual trying to operate from the outside.
“My goal is not to sit in an office. I want to be mobile. I want to go to homes and to the prison, as I usually did. I want to go to the schools and keep up the momentum. What is lacking in Anguilla, right now, is involvement from our society. Nobody seems to want to try to eradicate the problem [of violence]. Everybody is just talking about it on the radio for a while…but it is still going on. It doesn’t make sense. If you want to stamp out something – a professional pesticide man would tell you that if you want to killweed you have to spray it today, tomorrow and until the root is dead… So it is with violence.You have to constantly work against it.”
Kumakie explained that he would be returning to Anguilla on completion of his initial Bachelor’s degree in psychology to put his plans in place. “I wouldn’t want to go right back to school but, instead, come back home and at least work for a year or two to plant my feet in the concrete – leave a print, and then go and get my Master’s and come back,” he said.
Asked how he planned to finance his studies, Kumakie stated: “It is a bit difficult right now. As we know, the times are trying. There is a financial issue in Anguilla where the banks are not able to assist. The Development Board is reviewing a loan [application] for me. The Government has given partial financial aid and I have some sponsors. I am also trying to obtain other sponsors through Kumakie .ai – a website which some friends created to help me out. I am also using my personal savings. It is not enough…but at leastI can get to university – and hopefully the sponsorships will keep coming in so that I can fully pay for my schooling.”
Meanwhile, Kumakie has expressed thanks to the Government of Anguilla, Mrs Bonnie Bloom, Ken Evoy and Mitch Lake for their assistance.
