Jaime Skeete was born with a disability that saw him spending more time in the hospital than he did in school when he was a boy, but even with that challenge he not only excelled academically but by virtue of his determination he became a swimming coach at one of the better known swimming clubs in Guyana.
For Jaime learning to swim was one of his greatest achievements, and today as he works with young people he always encourages them to strive for their best and never allow difficulties to stand in their way.
Jamie, who walks with the aid of crutches, is a swimming coach at the Dolphin Swim Club and is employed with the Ministry of Education in the Management Information System Unit as a systems development officer.
The former Saint Stanislaus College student has a degree in computer engineering which he read for in Cuba on a government scholarship.
He was born with Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) which is a calcium deficiency in the bones known as brittle bone which causes fractures in childhood. It also causes fractures in adults.
Speaking to the Sunday Stabroek in a recent interview Jamie recalled he was constantly in the hospital because even though he knew he had a disability it never stopped him from being very active.
“Every minute I would fall out of some tree and my mother had to be taking me to the hospital. It came to a point where almost everybody in the hospital knew me because I went so often and stayed for long periods. It came to a point where someone would say to me, ‘Oh you come, I didn’t even know you come,’ like if I was going to visit relatives,” Jamie said laughing.
His first fracture happened when he was still a baby and the last one occurred when he was around fourteen years old. He even spent the Christmas holiday one year in the hospital.
Significant time was spent away from school while being hospitalized and he recalled in primary school one year he begged his mother to ask the school to take the end-of-term examination papers to the hospital as he was terrified of having to repeat. In the end he was forced to repeat the class but the experience was not as bad as he had imagined and he did very well even though at first he had been “heartbroken.”
“But I was also a very good student even though I spent so much of time in the hospital; I had to be because my mother was a school teacher,” he said, again laughing.
He is an only child and Jaime said he gives his mother thanks and praise for standing by him and ensuring that he did well in his studies, and she also told him not look at himself as someone with a disability always treating him as a “normal” child.
“Being involved in swimming and scouting…it has really helped me along the way in having a level of independence and being able to make a positive contribution to the lives of young people…and apart from my love and passion for sports and swimming that is what really drives.”
“Those were some of the values that really helped me to get through some difficult times that I encounter down the road,” Jaime said.
He does not describe his growing up years as difficult as he always had friends around him who were supportive, even though there were a few who were not that kind. His involvement in Scouts too, Jaime said, helped him to have a level of independence.
Swimming
Even though he has a disability Jaime said he has always been interested in sports from a very young age, and he was encouraged by his mother.
“From the very first time I saw persons swimming it has always struck me as something that I think I could do; I was really attracted from the very first,” he said.
But it took until after he had completed secondary school and was on work study attachment with the then GTV in the newsroom that the opportunity presented itself. He was assigned to do a story on the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association preparing for the Goodwill Games and he had to interview coaches from the various clubs. He took the opportunity to inquire about joining a club and it was Stephanie Fraser “who took up the challenge” and encouraged him to go down to the pool, where he later joined the Dorado Swim Club.
“It did not take me long, in the space of two months going twice a week to learn to swim and the exercise was very great for me, but just being there and watching the competitive swimmers…[inspired me].”
Gradually, he said the competitive bug in him “started biting” and after being encouraged he started competing in local meets for the fun of it, and that was his launching pad to play an instrumental part in swimming in Guyana. He began helping out in the ‘learning to swim’ category and his knowledge of the sport increased until he left on a scholarship for Cuba.
On his return he joined Dolphin Swim Club, which was going through a difficult time at that point, and he started helping out with coaching. Over the last two years the club has been doing very well and its members are showing a lot of potential.
While he coaches at all levels Jaime said he concentrates more on the competitive swimmers. Most of those children also train at the National Aquatic Centre with the coaches located there, making it a two-fold effort.
He said he always encourages “his kids” (in the swimming club) to work hard and they would achieve great things. Presently they have two swimmers who are expected to represent Guyana at international meets.
Owing to his disability some of his first-time swim students would question if he could even swim and he said there have been some “funny stories and not so funny stories” in his coaching career. He recalled one instance while teaching a class a parent took her child to learn to swim and when she saw the instructor she was upset and told the head coach that she did not want Jaime teaching her child. The head coach informed her that if she did not want Jaime to teach her child then she could take him elsewhere.
“It was one of those occasions where I was pleasantly surprised,” Jaime said, with reference to the head coach.
He is also good at chess and recalled being introduced to chess by Christopher Ram while attending Stella Maris, and it was “always a delight waiting for the Sunday papers where there was always the little section on chess and different games and I would keep these pages and play.” Jamie said all of this helped him to develop a love for and attention to detail, as once you really love something you take the time to master it.
Jaime has withstood all that has been thrown his way while growing up as a disabled child, and his advice to other young children in the same circumstances is to remember that “this world is a cruel place, and you have to be of strong will to really push through with all the difficult situations that you are going to face, other than having a disability.”
The children must get positive support from their parents and always believe they could achieve anything. “Having strength goes a very long way,” he said.
He also encourages children to learn to swim at an early age because not only it is a good form of exercise but it is also a life skill.
Jaime plans to continue to work hard and one day own his own home and transportation, and once those were in place to start a family.
“For me it is quite important to do that first…if it happens it happens, but that is how I plan it because that is not how I was raised. For me if I am going to look after a wife and children I must have resources to do so; I am not going to willingly and knowingly put someone else into a difficult situation.”
