There is something incredibly refreshing about an 83 year old lady who describes herself as a "recycled teenager" and who smiles while recounting that "I was a dunce and a sickly child," for she quickly chimes in "but I am a survivor." And, as the founder of Auntie Olga's Needy Children's Fund, there is quite possibly no other person in Barbados who seeks as fervently as she does to help others to be survivors too.
Olga Lopes-Seale was born in Guyana on December 26th, 1918. The youngest of 9 children - 6 of whom died before she was born - her parents were descendents of Portuguese immigrants who were brought to the Caribbean to work as indentured field labourers.
"I got into radio in my early teens," she recollects," and I was paid 75-cents to sing 2 songs on what was the first sponsored programme on Radio Guyana." And it was from here that her broadcasting career took off.
She went from hosting Hit Parade programmes to becoming a radio announcer, news presenter and programme producer. "In those days' she recalls, "women were not allowed to read the news," but Olga Lopes-Seale had what it took to change that. She is a woman with a huge heart, great courage, and high ideals, and her unwaivering dedication to help those in need is proof of this.
In Guyana she started the Radio Demerrara. Needy Children's Fund in 1952 - sort of by chance. During a singing appearance for charity, Auntie Olga, as she is known, learnt of five boys who were unable to attend a Christmas concert because they did not have enough clothes. "I aired an appeal for garments, and received more clothes than I had needy kids. So I aired an appeal for needy children to come forward, and then had more children than clothes."
Auntie Olga remembers that this went on back and forth for quite a while, and the following year "people just started sending me clothes and gifts and donations for needy children without me even asking." In 1963 when she left Guyana to come to Barbados, the homeland of her husband, Auntie Olga was helping to clothe and feed at least 1,500 poor Guyanese children.
"My reputation preceded my arrival in Barbados and I was invited to host a needy kids programme on Barbados Redifusion." That first year she was able to pass on donations to 600 children. "I believe that beggars can be choosers" she adds "and I made sure that each child got a gift in keeping with their age and sex. And I made sure that no two were outfitted alike."
Today, almost a half a century and one thousand miles away from her first Needy Children fund appeal in Guyana, Auntie Olga is still helping others. "I have destroyed 3 cars (picking up and dropping off donations island wide), but that was my contribution. And there isn't a child that I've taken care of that I haven't seen in their home environment."
Over the years her fund has assisted the needy with everything from house repairs to funeral costs, wheelchairs to school clothes, and food to dental fees. She works very closely with the Multinational Women's Group and the Variety Club, two group that also focus on the needs of children.
In addition to the countless awards she has received from Charity organizations, Auntie Olga was also inducted into the Caribbean Broadcasting Hall Of Fame in 1997 in recognition of the tremendous contribution she has made to tile community through her programmes. She has touched the heart of every Barbadian and is indeed one of the most admired matriarchs of our island.
Article written in 2002 and compliments of "Ins and Outs of Barbados" Magazine
|
