While many of us spend Christmas in the warmth of the family circle, some people: nurses, telephone operators, radio and television broadcasters, security guards and policemen around them spend Christmas Day on the job. Nills Campbell has spoken to seven such persons who have made and continue to make that sacrifice:
Ever since she was growing up as a little girl at La Belle Alliance on the Essequibo Coast, Nalini Persaud had a tender touch. She would readily respond and seek to render help should she see someone in need, and would try to bring comfort to the aggrieved.
This angelic approach to life must be what inspired her to join the noble profession that pioneers such as Florence Nightingale and Mary Seafort had led.
Six years ago she made the brave step to help to bring healing to suffering patients, and preserve body and soul in the fight to secure human lives. For four of those six years her superiors signalled that she must work on Christmas Day, and she willingly obliged-so dedicated is Nalini Persaud to her cause in providing comfort and healing. Christmas is here again and Persaud's lot is to work today.
"It was never bad for me having to work on Christmas Day. The fact that you are with the patients to see them smiling as you walk in to be with them on that special day and to give them their medication, their meals and whatever special addition that might be available is always refreshing," she said.
She agrees that Christmas Day is a special one and the happiness of patients also means happiness of nurses and other members of the care staff, and further agrees that reality does step in when on that special day "you see patients who are not doing so well medically; just lying there unable to respond, unable to say thank you or unable to share in the merriment that other patients are having."
Some Christmas Days are not all gaiety in the wards, she pointed out. "Yes, there have been times when we had to use the winding sheet to prepare patients who die on Christmas for the trip to the mortuary. This is always very emotional, it is not the kind of thing you want especially on Christmas Day, but one has to be positive in such circumstances, since there are other patients to be made happy in a special way for that day."
Persaud is a lone girl but has four brothers and one can assume that they were enough for her to have early practice in home care and subsequently to branch out into full time care. Her childhood days saw her playing such games as circle tennis, and she is naturally tolerant when children for example seek to enjoy themselves while playing on Christmas Day, especially.
"Especially on Christmas Day, as a nurse, I find special satisfaction to give care, knowing that a patient can be sick but still feel as if he or she is at home, touched by the dedication of caring staff, and showing signs of improving because of the atmosphere that helps to develop peace of mind.
"Again this Christmas I will try my best to bring comfort and cheer to the patients of our institution, especially those who might not have persons to visit them…"
Indeed, even as our readers celebrate this Christmas, you can whisper a prayer for Nurse Nalini Persaud and others as they strive to make this Christmas one of merriment for patients at hospitals throughout the green land of Guyana.
Serving on Christmas Day brings
satisfaction - nurse/midwife says
For 16 years Lavern Tiesch-Maker has been practising as a nurse and for eight of those years she has been helping to bring babies into this world.
Christmas Day does offer to her a special sense of achievement whenever she is privileged to help a mother deliver her child. "There is a special feeling of satisfaction to see a new-born baby on Christmas Day; more so when I am the first to handle that baby, to hear the cry announcing his or her presence, and later to see the smile of celebration returning to the face of the victorious mother."
She too is billed to work on Christmas Day but after some 16 years in the profession and now with grown children, it is much easier for her to answer the call to work on this day. From childhood she wanted to be a nurse, but she had to wait her turn over a period of time. Repeated failed attempts to gain entry to the nursing profession on leaving secondary school - 'no vacancies' responses - did not daunt her spirit.
Finally, the call did come and her girlhood dreams came through; Lavern became a nurse determined to serve her calling with dedication and distinction. Her recent years as a midwife also had moments of concern. "Especially on Christ-mas Day, a nurse looks forward to helping to bring forth a baby in conditions when mother and child are well," she told the Stabroek News.
"I usually feel sad and aggrieved when mothers have difficulties especially on that day," she said, as she recalled such occasions.
There have been times when her children were small that she encountered difficulties tearing herself away from them to respond to the call of duty. "Naturally, duty always prevails," she commented.
She is happy that she did decide to take up nursing even though in the interim while she awaited she took up a job in the Guyana Police Force. "Five years in the force did not dampen my desire to become a nurse. Indeed, I really wanted to serve in this noble cause. This is why it is not that difficult these days to respond to the call to duty on Christmas or on any other day."
'Hello Girl' Gail chalks up 11 Christmases
Gail Schultz has been on the other side of the telephone lines, and has indeed proved her mettle as a "Hello Girl" to the thousands dialling telephone house seeking the services of GT&T's Operations Room.
As could be expected, it is never really easy working on Christmas Day for the operators since customers are understandably anxious about making telephone contact with their relatives. How does this young lady find her job during this season when calls rise to their peak? "Very challenging," she said.
The proof of the pudding is indeed in the eating. So too is the proof of Gail's coolness when scores of passengers would call to express their disappointment over being unable to get a ready answer from any of the operators.
"This job, like all jobs where you interact with the public, demands greater tolerance. It also demands of the operator the need to be able to understand the background from which the customer is operating."
Often, Gail explained, the customer might need to contact an overseas relative for help, or simply to hear the voice of a relative for the first time in a long time. She explained that even though the customer might have heard the 092 number ringing, he or she might not have known that there are several callers waiting in queue.
She always had a liking for computers and found satisfaction being in the background while dealing with callers.
"Working on Christmas Day has become normal for me after these almost 11 years," she said. More than that, Gail has developed a high level of tolerance and she is readily able to empathize with the persons on the other side of the telephone line.Her job deals with answering calls and linking calls to regional and international locations, as well as diverting calls to the relevant departments.
Yes, she enjoys her work, yes she knows it requires a special sacrifice to work on Christmas Day, "but after 11 years I have become accustomed to have to slip out of home in the early hours of the morning while my family is preparing to take breakfast," together while she takes on the role of absentee family member.
She does find a sense of satisfaction in being able to please customers, many of whom would say a warm thank you even as she was about to link their "Merry Christmas" calls.
The memories are happy and sad for Nurse Wanda Adams
In her 20-odd years as a nurse, Wanda Adams has pleasant memories working among patients during the festive season; she also has had sad moments.
She recalled a maternity patient whose pleasantness made the nurses' works relatively enjoyable. The patient sang along with every song played on the airwaves during one Old Year's Night. "Two days later, and when no one expected, that patient passed away leaving an atmosphere of gloom throughout the adjoining wards."
Adams initially did not want to be a nurse but her elder sister who had taken up that profession made an impact on her life so effectively, that she could not help but follow her footsteps.
"It was not my dream originally to get involved in nursing, but my sister worked at the St Joseph Mercy Hospital and I was soon inspired to follow in her footsteps. I can tell you today, I have no regrets," Adams remarked. "Just helping people, and seeing them appreciate what you do for them could mean so much, and can do so much for your own morale that you find yourself wanting to continue and even to do better than before," Adams, now a midwife for some six years, commented.
For her, moments of gloom come when a patient fails to make it through after much effort to preserve life; worse still, if such a misfortune occurs during the festive season, for example on Christmas Day. It is far from easy for nurses to listen to the wailing of relatives, to see the reaction of stunned faces staring in disbelief and equally hard, to observe others almost stone cold, with unbidden tears flowing down their cheeks. How does she react in such circumstances? "As a professional nurse, one has to continue, one has to put up a brave front, and to act as if life has to go long despite everything else."
She says her mission is: "To continue to serve to bring healing to suffering persons; to see them comforted, and to work for their recovery so I can have the satisfaction of seeing the patients walk out of the institution improved and with a sense of gratitude. Thank yous are often inspiring coming from the recovered patient."
It was not always easy for her to work on Christmas Day but because duty calls, there is always a challenge… She recalls one Christmas Day when the tears and pleas of her infant son urging her not to leave him and to go to work on Christmas Day overwhelmed her and she chose to stay home. But today Nurse Wanda Adams would be there to bid welcome to other baby boys and girls as they enter the world, and having the satisfaction of being the lucky one to hold them first and say, "Welcome - Merry Christmas."
Linking Guyana with the rest of the world
Pint-sized Rupa Durkhia has been stepping out of her home during the festive season for the past two years, to undertake the functions of a "Hello Girl" and has learnt to find solutions in helping to link her fellow Guyanese with people in the other parts of the world.
While she enjoys her job, she readily admits that there are customers who could be impatient, and who do not understand that when they dial 092 their call is placed in a queue by a computer and is dispatched in order of priority, based on what time it was made.
"With a little tolerance, an explanation, and some empathy from the operator, people generally tend to understand, and one is able to provide a service to the mutual satisfaction of the customer and the operator acting on behalf of GT&T," she explained.
"Yes, now and then one may run into a very difficult customer who may be having very serious problems, needing special attention. In such cases the supervisor takes over and more often than not, the issue is settled and everyone has a Merry Christmas after all."
Durkhia said she enjoys the added satisfaction of being able to connect callers to other parts of the world. And, the sighs of relief and expressions of satisfaction from customers make working on Christmas Day worthwhile.
Last Christmas, she said, was very good; calls just flowed. Students in Cuba receiving calls from their relatives back home, calls to and from the United States and Canada, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Antigua; calls were going and coming from Africa, especially Ethiopia, India, and China.
Was it always her dream to become a "Hello Girl"? The answer is no. She once longed to become a journalist and even undertook a work-study programme at the local radio station. When she eventually received an offer from the radio station however, it was too late. She had started working at GT&T was enjoying it. "I tend to grow with my job, I love this environment," she commented.
To the thousands of customers her words of encouragement is that the operators are there to provide quality service but they too must have some patience, and together they all could enjoy a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Henry Singh in the wee hours
Early risers, or those who never went to bed on Christmas Eve, may have tuned in to the radio this morning from one o'clock to four o'clock for Henry Singh's Christmas music and related facts.
Asked about being on the radio on Christmas Day at that hour, Singh said: "It will be such a pleasure being there for you, and keeping you in a merry mood and informed." In addition to playing carols and related Christmas songs, Singh said he would provide background information about the songs, and when possible their composers and the circumstances leading to their production.
"There would also be a segment for greetings on the programme, but callers [would be] encouraged to give the reasons why they are offering greetings to relatives. For example, to send greetings to a loving mother, they must be prepared to say why they love their mothers," Singh explained.
Asked about sacrificing his sleeping hours to host the programme, Singh remarked, "The people are the important ones - this affords me the opportunity of being much more than just a friend.
He explained however that by his very nature he does not sleep for long hours and that he could not find himself sleeping for five and six hours. He will be quite satisfied therefore spending the four and five hours to merrily extend Christmas love and greetings to his friends in radio land.
Breakfast and all for Guyana Today's Xmas special
Neaz Subhan and crew's special Guyana Today show this morning will involve breakfast and all.
"Since we would be having breakfast on the job there would be a special setting for the breakfast show to create the environment for this special occasion, "the Coordinator for Special Events said in a Stabroek News interview.
He explained that colleagues decided to ensure that there would be a live programme so that Christmas 2006 would be special for viewers on Channel 11. "The staff members are very committed; the folks are all gearing up for this occasion."
Subhan said even though it means persons have to be away from their families, "it is also providing the opportunity to showcase the fact that the staff makes up one happy family."
In addition to the playing of carols and other Christmas songs, the show would have snippets of some Christmas projects sponsored by the Channel.
One such project was the Dear Santa Claus letters that were encouraged. "We received more than 400 letters and on Friday some of the children were invited to receive their gifts from Santa Claus in the NCN studios at Home Stretch. Of course we could only afford the simple gifts, and those children who asked for simple gifts, or who made requests for simple gifts for their friends had their request granted."
The programme provided for about 65
children from Georgetown. In the case of Linden, 20 children were awarded and the Linden NCN Coordinator visited the homes of the children in the Mining Town to deliver theirs.
Another initiative of the Special Coordination Unit was in helping to collect toys for the Radio's Needy Children's Fund.