ALFRED GRAHAM
GARVEY HONOUR FOR
GRAHAM
Stephen Boodram
Guardian South
Bureau
People and Places
Sunday Guardian
August 20, 2000
Page 21
For
dedicated service to his fellowman, an unselfish spirit and
philanthropic work, Alfred Graham, 83, will be honoured by the Afrikan
Advancement Association (AAA) and the Marcus Garvey Institute of Afrikan Life
Studies today.
Born
on April 17, 1917, to Angelina Graham and Edward Forde, Alfred was the sixth of
14 children. Very early in life his
father died, leaving his mother to care for all of them.
He
attended Mother's School and San Fernando Boys' RC, but too often, his
schooling was interrupted for varying reasons.
From
about nine years old, Graham worked as a yard boy for the Hurdles. Shortly thereafter, his godmother - a Mrs.
Ellis - took him to Cedros and promised to send him to school and during his
spare time, to tend to her pigs and chickens.
She never sent him to school.
Instead, he worked full-time on the farm.
Upon
learning of her son's hardship, and that he had fallen ill, his mother took him
back home and nursed him back to health.
On his recovery, he returned to San Fernando Boys' RC School. After being away from school for two months,
on his return he sat a test and surpassed 52 students. Shortly after, he had to quit school to find
work to help his mother and large family.
At
age 14, he started work at Trinidad Leaseholds Ltd at Pointe-a-Pierre where he
worked as a barman mixing French cocktails.
His
later working life spanned several disciplines including steel bender,
fisherman and bus dispatcher with the Arima Bus Company in 1939. in 1942, he went to work at Fort Reed on the
American Base in Wallerfield. He received
the Army Auxiliary Military Police production award for excellence in outstanding
performance in wartime construction in 1943.
After serving during wartime he would dabble in other fields of
self-employment as moneylender and building contractor at the San Fernando
General Hospital.
In
1959, Graham invested a paltry $3,000 in a teashop at 5a Pointe-a-Pierre Road,
San Fernando, where he sold fried bakes, accra and tea for six cents each. He worked without pay for three months,
while paying his workers. His first
salary in his business was $25 per week.
In
1963, he started a business with one bag of peanuts, which he parched and sold
1/4 lb for 12 cents. Within three years
he was purchasing 100 bags at one time.
By
1973 he purchased a plot of land at Pointe-a-Pierre Road with a mortgage for
$78,000. In 1984, he erected a building
on this piece of land at a cost of $450,000.
This building is today named the Alfred Graham Building, a virtual
landmark for Africans in Trinidad and Tobago.
Ten
years later, Graham resigned from the business and leased the building to a
shoe shop owner.
While
he was working to move up in the world of business, Graham took time to help
others in the wider community. From
1951, he started by giving five dollars to each of the 280 boys in the Belmont
Orphanage once every year. Until 1991,
he has helped many to set themselves up in business, some of whom are prominent
business people today. One such person
is the indomitable Master Baker.
He
also contributed $10,000 to the Marcus Garvey Statue project on Harris
Promenade, San Fernando. In 1997, he
again contributed $25,000 to the Marcus Garvey Institute to help booster its
financial standing.
After
his retirement in 1991, he bought 13 properties valued at $2m, to assist family
members. During 1994-96, while reading
the newspapers, he was moved by the plight of a very poor family in Arima and
Nathaniel Joseph, a handicapped boy of Longdenville. He donated a $3,600 wheelchair to Joseph's cause.
Graham
has received several awards as tokens or appreciation for his philanthropic charitable
works.
On December
4, 1988, the San Fernando City Police Association presented him with a citation
for Sincerity and Dedication in service to the community. His contributions to the Blind Welfare
Association won him life membership status in that grouping in 1991. In 1992 Egbe Ilo Siwaju Ile Alkebulan of the
AAA presented him with the Garvey Merit Award in the field of business.
In 1996,
he received three citations. The City
of San Fernando recognised this son of the soil on August 21, 1999, with a
Meritorious Award for long-standing community service.
Last
May, he was presented with a Golden Award by the Southern Sports and Cultural
Organisation. On July 21, last, the
joint parishes of St Clements/St John's Anglican Church inducted him in the
Order of St Clements and Order of Emancipation.
Graham,
former proprietor of Graham's Wholesale and Retail Store, Corner
Pointe-a-Pierre Road and La Pique Hill, San Fernando, now spends his retirement
at his home in La Romain.
The
AAA will unveil a marble stone on the Marcus Garvey Statue plinth bearing the
name Alfred Graham, as the person who donated the statue. The AAA will also induct him into the Order
of Marcus Garvey on Harris Promenade at a ceremony at 3 pm today.