Trinidad & Tobago: Valuing the strong bonds of friendship

Leela Ramdeen's Holy Faith Convent, Couva Class of 62-88 celebrating 59 years of friendship

"There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship"(St Thomas Aquinas).

On Tuesday 12 January, I joined some of my former secondary school classmates for breakfast at our Alma Mater, Holy Faith Convent, Couva (HFCC), to commemorate HFCC's 70th anniversary. This school, established in 1951, was the first secondary school in the Central rural area. The number of students there increased with the introduction of free education in the 1960s.

My friends and I were among the first students who sat the 11-plus examination. Ours was the class of '62 to '68. Last week Tuesday we celebrated 59 years of friendship.

Former President of the USA, Woodrow T. Wilson, was right when he said: "Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together." Pope Francis' recent encyclical entitled: "Fratelli Tutti - on fraternity and social friendship" is also worth noting.

There are some real nuggets of wisdom contained in Fratelli Tutti. For example, Pope Francis urges: "Let us dream... as a single human family, as fellow travellers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all."

During our "Friendship breakfast" last week, amidst all the talk and laughter about our days at HFCC, we thanked God for the strong bond of friendship/sisterhood that exists between us. And although some of our classmates now reside in various parts of the world, modern technology allows us to keep in touch with each other regularly.

We recalled many wonderful experiences about our education at HFCC. It is noteworthy that the composition of the school was, and still is comprised of girls from various faith communities. Our breakfast was held in the very classroom in which we sat when we entered the school all those years ago.

We ensured social distancing as we partook of the feast - cooked by some of "the girls", as we refer to ourselves. The aroma of fried bake and saltish buljol, fried planain, dhalpuri and curried mango, home-made sweetbread and bran and raisin cupcakes, fruits, juices etc. all added to the warmth that filled the classroom. As Dr Maria Byron, nee Moy, our then Form 1 Form Mistress, wrote to me after the event: " I am sure there was lots of nostalgia."

It is teachers like Dr Byron, who, together with the Holy Faith Sisters, promoted our mental, spiritual, moral, cultural, social and physical development. They taught us to respect life and human dignity; to understand our rights and responsibilities; to promote family life, community and the common good; to stand in solidarity with the poor and the oppressed; to care for God's creation; and to be active participants in our society. I am who I am today mainly because of the positive influence of my parents and teachers. Today I am proud to sit on the Board of the Catholic Religious Education Development Institute (CREDI) with my former teacher, Dr Byron.

Present with us at the breakfast was Mrs Pamela Punch, who is herself a past pupil of HFCC and the school's second Principal. She held this post for 22 years. The first principal was Sr Mary Magdalena McBride, who was principal for over 20 years. In December 1947, at the invitation of the then Archbishop of Port of Spain, Count Finbar Ryan, HFC Foundress, Sr Margaret Aylward, sent Sr Magdalena and seven other Sisters - Colmcille, Magdalena Laurentina , Winifred, Madeleine, Carmelita, Norbert and Kilian, and HFC's Superior General, Mother Mary Monica Mc Sherry, from Ireland to T&T to help with the education work in the Archdiocese.They settled first in Woodbrook.

Other past Principals of HFC include Sr Janice Tam, and Ms Angela Illo. Sr Theresa Vialva holds this post currently. At our breakfast, Mrs Punch shared albums with photographs of events of yesteryear, so we were able to reminisce. I discovered that the photo of Dr Eric Williams, the first Prime Minister of Independent T&T, walking with Sr Magdalena on the school grounds, was taken when he visited HFCC to deliver the keynote address at the Graduation of the class of '68 - my class. Sadly, I had missed the event as I had migrated to London with my family in 1967.

Since arriving in Trinidad in 1947, Holy Faith Sisters have been involved in both primary and secondary school education e.g. two private primary schools in Port of Spain, and two Government-assisted secondary schools, in Couva and in Penal. These secondary schools have diverse ethnic and religious populations.

Holy Faith Sisters are also involved in faith development through parish programs, retreats, catechist formation, social justice work and membership of archdiocesan committees. One sister is a part-time prison chaplain and minsters to prisoners on 'death row' and another sister is involved in HOPE, a micro-credit lending facility that offers small business loans .

In an era of selfishness and individualism, let's promote fraternity/social friendship.

I pay tribute to the Holy Faith Sisters who continue to contribute to nation-building in T&T. T&T owes a debt of gratitude to them. And, as Sr Margaret Aylward said many years ago: "Under God it began…Through God it has grown." God has truly done great and wonderful things at HFCC.