The story of Marcel Nickolei Persaud is one that speaks to both the challenges of marginalised communities and the potential for transformation within those same communities. Growing up in Tiger Bay, Georgetown, he witnessed firsthand the harsh realities of poverty and the pull of criminal activities that often ensnares young people in such environments.
Tiger Bay has long been known for its socio-economic struggles, wherein limited opportunities and systemic inequalities contribute to a cycle of hardship. In many cases, these circumstances negatively influence youths, pushing them towards a path of crime as a means of survival or escape from the ravages of poverty. Marcel’s journey is, however, a testament to the possibility of overcoming these challenges.
Working as a senior officer in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, he now plays a pivotal role in the broader framework of governance and development, contributing to efforts aimed at addressing the very issues that shaped his early life.
Many youths from that community had not lived to see the age of 20, Persaud, who is turning 27 in December, disclosed.
“I had a lot of friends (that) didn’t make it to see 20 years. A lot of them died through gun violence and through crime, but I can’t judge them, I don’t know what they went through, but I can relate,” he explained during an interview with this publication.
“It’s not their fault though,” he explained as he noted that his could have easily been that fate.
Instead, grounded by strong support in education and his exposure to good role models, Persaud’s life took a different path. “I give credit to my parents. It’s not easy raising boys in that area,” he expressed.
This young man is now the first in his family/household to have obtained a university education, having graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Management from the University of Guyana (UG).
While breaking away from that cycle of poverty and hardship was no easy task, the young man believes that other ghetto youths can, like he has done, pursue a similar path to socio-economic liberation.
Childhood & contentment
Persaud attended the Sacred Heart Primary School, but when that institution was gutted by fire in 2004, he was transferred to the St Margaret’s Primary. Upon writing the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), he was awarded a place at St Joseph’s High School, but spent only a year there before being offered a scholarship to study at the School of the Nations, a private educational facility located in Tiger Bay.
“They used to have afternoon lessons at School of the Nations, and they had invited me and my brothers and other children from Tiger Bay to participate; and while attending the lessons there, I gained a scholarship,” Persaud explained.
He disclosed that he had also been offered another scholarship to study at the sixth form level of the same school; and that during his high school life, he was surrounded by children whose lives were completely different from his. While that factor was a reminder of all the things he could not have afforded, Persaud said, it taught him the valuable lesson of contentment.
“I think that’s what helped me to overcome any other challenge in my life: to be contented,” he remarked.
Persaud is the eldest of five siblings to parents who operated a small shop outside of their home in the Tiger Bay community. Their earnings were just enough to ensure the family had the bare necessities of a comfortable life.
Passion for politics
Persaud’s grandfather, Victor Sobers, was deeply involved in politics, having served as a councillor of the Georgetown municipality for over two decades. Seeing the work his grandfather and colleagues were involved in had triggered in Persaud an interest in politics, so after graduating from high school, Persaud decided to join the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
“I was motivated by the people around me and about how educated they are, how smart they are, and I wanted to be like that,” he said in reference to the seasoned politicians within that party.
Ghetto youth scholar
While being deeply involved in political work, Persaud had always had a desire to continue his education at UG, but financial constraints had prevented that development.
Even after the PPP won the 2020 elections and entered into office, Persaud had still placed his educational desires in abeyance. However, Education Minister Priya Manickchand encouraged him to get further qualified; and when he still could not afford to pay for his studies, he applied for, and was awarded, a scholarship from the Ministry of Public Service.
“When I applied for the scholarship and got through, I needed a guarantor. I didn’t have anybody to sign as guarantor for me, but Minister Manickchand, she signed,” Persaud recalled with gratitude.
Upon commencing tertiary education, Persaud was determined to not only complete his programme, but to graduate with distinction; and that he did.
“I wanted to send a statement to people who were negative in my life, people who basically told me that I would have been nothing. So, I really wanted to get that distinction, (that I could) say to people like me, who think that they can’t be anybody, that they can do it too,” he disclosed.
Role model
Persaud’s story went viral on social media after he posted photos of himself in his graduation gown in his childhood community. The post was captioned, “This one is for the Ghetto Youths…we can do it also…Product of Tiger Bay…”
He hopes his story serves as an inspiration to other ghetto youths: that they can break the cycle of poverty. Persaud is contending that those youths need better role models in their lives.
“You got to realise (that) it’s just cycles and generations of poverty…,” he said. “They don’t have anybody to show them what it’s like to be successful. Their idea of success is far different from you and I, and that’s because they don’t have good role models…,” he explained. “They grow up seeing their fathers committing a crime…,”
Persaud explained, “I had it better. Attending School of the Nations really helped channel my goals, because being around (people like them), I had a different outlook on life: what it means to be successful; a different type of success. That basically helped me.”
Persaud is now committed to ensuring his younger siblings pursue a similar path in life, and is determined to be a good role model for other youths in Tiger Bay.
“I’ve seen what role models can do for a young man,” he declared. “Even before this degree, I go to Tiger Bay at least twice a week, I help out the young people there to find jobs…I really try to show them that working and earning is good.”
