Passionate about service to people

ONLINE voting continues in the Courts TT Heroes Initiative, which seeks to recognise “the selfless giving and work” of the people who are making a difference in the lives of others.

Eight finalists have been selected from an initial 30 nominees for their contributions to society. Today we feature Lisa Ghany of the Seizure Support Network. Voting continues until October 9.

LISA GHANY said she is most passionate about service to people, which starts with family, transcending to the wider community. "It is about making sure your life is fulfilled through doing good and making sure the wider society benefits from your wealth of experience and knowledge."

Ghany is the founder of Xceptional Events Ltd and an honorary board member and chairperson of events and sponsorship at the Down Syndrome Family Network.

The Courts Hero nominee said her mantra at this point of her life has to do with service above self.

"I also have one which has been with me since I was 12. I first heard it from my father. It was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and says, 'The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.'"

She said the lines remind her that hard work leads to many benefits in life.

"Growing up, I always saw myself doing something where I would be looking after people or involved in some kind of humanitarian work."

Ghany said in her youth she gravitated toward the field of medicine, as her father was a doctor and her mother a nurse.

Her life, however, took a different turn from many of her friends when she got married at 19, and soon started a family with her husband.

"I had put my professional life on the back burner for a while. But then when the time was right, I got back on track by going to university. At that point I was very involved in corporate communication and public relations, so I studied that."

She then progressed into event management, which she enjoyed and gradually got closer to mastery. It was only a matter of time before she started her own event management company, doing corporate work while collaborating with non-government and charitable organisations.

Asked about her favourite childhood memory, Ghany recalled visits to Mayaro.

"My family had a beach house in Mayaro. It was a place we would visit all the time with my extended family. My fondest memories of that time have to do with playing on the beach, catching crabs, having barbecues on the beach. Those memories are things I still cherish and are things we now want our own family to be doing."

Her mother being from the United Kingdom, she also recalls living there for some time and spending holidays there.

Ghany, who grew up on Belmont Circular Road, Port of Spain, and attended St Joseph's Convent, Port of Spain, said she gravitated toward art as a teenager.

"I was also always involved in the social side of what would be happening at school. I was in a lot of clubs and activities. I had that kind of personality."

It was then she got some inkling of a natural gift for planning and executing memorable events.

"I was always in the middle of the crowd organising something. I would always find an excuse to do something which would involve me inviting people to partake."

This, she said, helped guide her, based on her natural instincts and what she liked.

"I was always the diplomat in the group."

Ghany did an associate degree in public relations, followed by a bachelor of arts in event management and later a masters degree in protocol and diplomacy.

Asked how she became involved in the Down Syndrome Family Network and what inspired her to remain part of it, Ghany said, "The son of my current partner is living with Down Syndrome. So it was a part of our family experience, so we had to find solutions, and therefore, looked at how we could create a space in TT where children living with Down syndrome would have more opportunity to education and access to services – overall inclusion in society."

She said she saw the importance of supporting the journey of parents like her partner and other parents.

"My father had a disability for most of his life which saw him being in a wheelchair. That also influenced my decision to become more involved, because although it is the Down Syndrome Family Network, we advocate for everyone living with disabilities."

Within the last ten years, she said, there has been evidence of both private and public sector collaborating with organisations to bring greater awareness and inclusion.

"We are not the only organisation advocating for inclusion for people living with disabilities. The movement in TT has become a lot more focused on advocacy and is bringing a lot of awareness to the wide range of difficulty – hearing- and sight-impaired included."

She explained the support of the government, referring to the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2015.

"They now have a mandate to move forward with policy and legislation. What we need now is for a lot of the policies to move forward into legislation which would make them enforceable – eliminating loopholes."

She has seen ministries responding to changes in policies.

"The private sector has also come on board."

Companies, including Scotiabank, have invited young people with Down syndrome to join their team as interns, Ghany said.

"Central Bank took an intern on board for summer who is living with Down Syndrome. Hyatt Regency employed a lady who has been working with them as part of the Down Syndrome Network internship programme. We are now talking to Royal Bank and Shell along with other companies to get more companies on board."

Ghany also works as part of the team of the John E Sabga foundation for Pancreatic Cancer.

"We are now on the verge of launching the first clinic trial ever for pancreatic cancer research in the Caribbean. We are collaborating with the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), based in the US."

She works for the foundation by organising events, sponsorship, and a quarterly patients support group for survivors and people living with cancer.

"This is another one of my passions."

Ghany said her motivation is an inner drive.

"You can get inspiration from things around you, but the motivation to keep going is something you have to nurture within yourself. The world will always need something, so you have to manage yourself to avoid experiencing a burnout. You must restore yourself, whether through spirituality, spending time with family and friends. For me, a lot of my recharging happens with my family."

A major challenge she believed she had to overcome had to do with the timing of her life and the decisions she made at each juncture.

"I got married at 19, so I had to work for some time before I went to university. Seeing your friends moving forward while I was at a different stage was mentally challenging.

"But I set my goals, and I did not give up. I was blessed with opportunities which helped things come together, even though I did my masters when I was 50, versus people who are now doing their masters at 20.

"But with that inner motivation, you really can do anything you want."

Asked what she will be doing next, she said, "I don't want to give away too much information. But my focus remains on transferring knowledge – training those who work with me and people I teach. Passing on knowledge and wisdom is our legacy. We must pass on our knowledge to the young people who understand technology more than we do.

"It is also important to keep reinventing ourselves and not become extinct."

Asked who her hero is, she said, "Easy: my father is my hero. He taught me so much through his pain and suffering. His spirit was also very positive, always full of kind words – from an early age I was influenced by him. Even though he has passed away, he continues to be with me, influencing my way of living."

To vote for this nominee, visit https://unicomercourtscaribbean.wishpond.com/courtsheroes/