As a child Deondra Wishart walked miles to school because her single mom had no money to give her for transportation; there were days when she went without food and it was during those difficult times that she resolved in her mind that education was the way out. But even as she excelled academically, which today sees her being gainfully employed, Wishart also longed to make an impact on the lives of those behind her enduring some of the same struggles she faced while growing up.
At an early age, when she was employed with Banks DIH Ltd, she was introduced to Junior Chamber Inter-national (JCI), a nonprofit organisation of active citizens aged 18 to 40 who are engaged and committed to creating impact in their communities throughout the world. She saw this as an avenue through which she could give back to her community.
On February 5, 2011 she became an official member of JCI and over the years worked her way through the ranks of the organisation, which encourages young people to become active citizens and to participate in efforts towards social and economic development, international cooperation, goodwill and understanding. She served as secretary, treasurer, and at the age of 20 became the youngest ever president of JCI Guyana. She was also 61st national president of JCI West Indies in 2021 and was awarded a senatorship in 2020 from JCI Guyana.
Becoming national president made way for a new dream: to serve at the international level. “I volunteered and was appointed to serve on the Human Duties Committee – the first of its kind,” she said. “Serving on that committee filled me with so much joy that I considered serving in an elected position on JCI Board of Directors.”
Most recently, she became JCI Vice President for 2023, the highest post she has attained thus far in the organisation.
“The process to becoming an elected officer is not an easy walk in the park. It is serious business, with lots of studying, assignments, interviews and so forth. Throughout the journey, you will become a developed leader,” the new vice-president, who has since married and is now known as Wishart-Hope said in a recent post on her Facebook page.
Fell in love
In an interview with Stabroek Weekend, Wishart-Hope said she immediately fell in love with JCI when she was introduced to the organisation as she saw not only the community development aspect but also the individual development and its push for business and entrepreneurship for members and young people.
Her recent election makes her the first Guyanese to serve in an international capacity in an elected position at the JCI and she said it is something she would not take lightly. Although she is excited, she is humbled to showcase Guyana and encourage more people to join.
Her journey to this juncture has not been an easy one as she disclosed that she had lost many elections prior. In 2016 she lost when she ran for national vice-president in Barbados and again in 2018 in Grenada when she contested for the position of executive vice-president.
“But I did not give up. I knew what I wanted and I kept going and it paid off…,” she told this newspaper.
She cried when she lost in 2016, but the defeat in 2018 was much more impactful, Wishart-Hope candidly shared that she had a mental breakdown.
“I am not going to lie because I loved this organisation so much and I know of the goodness of it and how much we give back to society…,” she said.
She recalled that her friends reported that she cried for a long time after the defeat and she was really distraught. The following year, she took time off to focus on her mental health after realising that she was giving too much of herself to the organisation and not taking care of her mental health. She continued working with youths through USAID in East La Penitence and Lodge.
But it was never a case of her giving up on JCI as she held herself up as a testimony of how the organisation can change people; coming from Sophia as a very “unpolished” young woman, she has grown so much. When she started JCI she did not even own a suit and had to borrow one for her induction.
“But coming now to where I am, I can personally say that I have seen the growth in myself and this is something that I want to share with more youths so that they can be a part of this organisation, especially for the individual development part,” she said.
A developed youth can have an impact on his or her community as well, she noted. And JCI teaches one to plan a project from idea to execution.
Her work with JCI entails a lot of volunteerism and she is certified trainer with the organisation in effective communication, leadership and other courses. She is also involved in national and international events and community development work. There are drives involving kites, toys and clothes.
Members are also encouraged to start businesses and JCI assists with training them and they have had partnerships with other organisations in giving back service to humanity.
Professionally, Wishart-Hope has worked as a customer service representative at Banks DIH, a community development officer with the National Data Management Authority and at present she is the socio-economic adviser at ExxonMobil Guyana.
She said she manages to cope with her professional job and responsibility with JCI because the organisation teaches time management. She has already started setting her calendar for next year as she fulfils her roles in her newly elected position. And she will be doing all of this as she completes her masters degree and finds time for her 11-year-old daughter Keyonce Wishart.
Wishart-Hope also hopes to raise awareness of the organisation in Guyana because she admits that even though it has been around in this country since 1964 it is still not very popular. She noted that it was responsible for starting the Mashramani parade in Mackenzie and also the Miss Guyana World Pageant.
“We have done a lot over the years but I think we are the best kept secret and that is something I need to change. For me, I push a lot to let people know that JCI is here and they can be a part and support,” she said.
Underprivileged
Wishart-Hope said she grew up in “a lot of underprivileged areas”, the last being Sophia.
“I know a lot about poverty because I have been poor. I walked through mud dams. I fetched water. I went in Food for the Poor line to get food and clothing and so. I was raised in a single parent family, my mom and four of us…,” she said candidly during the interview.
Growing up she recalled that even though times were hard she focused on her education “to not have what I was going through be a permanent thing for me.
“I remember studying – I attended Sacred Heart – with a kerosene lamp for common entrance because I really wanted to get good grades and then when I got St Joseph High my mom was very happy. And even in high school I decided that I need not be stuck in a cycle like others I saw…,” she said.
That cycle included young people around her dropping out of school and doing various jobs, unable to complete their secondary education. When her mother had no money, she walked to school. Such was her drive for education as she saw that as her way out of poverty.
“I took soya mince chunks and rice – both received from Food for the Poor – to school [for lunch] for months,” Wishart-Hope said in her Facebook post. “I’ve lived in Albouystown – big up Garnett and Non Pariel streets. I’ve lived in Buxton – big up Company Road. I’ve lived in Leopold Street. I still have an address in Cummings Park, Sophia where all my mails go because my mom resides there and there will always be home. I often tell people (jokingly)that I’ve lived in every ghetto except Tiger Bay and Agricola – Shout-out to the youths of all the underprivileged communities!”
As the eldest of four children she also wanted to be an example to her younger siblings as she recalled with a laugh that it was “a horrible responsibility” to have to be in that position.
She advised that young people have to know what they want and work hard for it even though life may not go according to how one plans it.
The mother of one encouraged youths especially in underprivileged areas that they can be anything once they put their mind to it.
“Had I given up in 2016 when I had lost the first time… I would not have been here. Had I given up when it did not go good for me and I did not take it well I would not have been here today. So it is just to let them know there will be obstacles along the way in life but once you have your mind set on a goal keep going…” she advised.
“I am sharing all of this because one thing remained my constant throughout my life… to be better and to make my mama proud. My mom did her best to provide for us and it was not easy being a single parent with four children. I saw it fit to repay her by taking in my education and developing a drive to be better,” she also shared in her Facebook post.
Her husband, Randy Hope, has been her rock. She shared, “I could not have been doing half of what I am doing if he was there to support me”. Her mother Lennita Lewis-Ettiene has also been very supportive and has always been proud of her.
