| Interview - This beggar is a chooser |
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Julian Armfield meets Dame “Auntie” Olga Lopes-Seale, the Guyanese-Barbadian humanitarian, broadcaster, journalist, and singer, who was once known as the “Vera Lynn of the Caribbean”. A legend in her own lifetime, the 90-year-old still has her foot firmly on the pedal as she continues her relentless drive to care for the less fortunate children of Barbados.
It is not every day that you meet a nonagerian who describes herself as “a recycled teenager”. So, it was with some trepidation that I entered the modest little bungalow in Black Rock, on the outskirts of Bridgetown, Barbados to meet “Auntie Olga”, probably the best-known and most-admired broadcaster in Caribbean radio history and founder of the Needy Children’s Fund. But I am made to feel instantly at home by the great lady herself, who settles me into a comfortable rocking chair. A little delicate after a knee operation last December, she walks with the aid of a stick. But her brain is still razor sharp. “Never mind Dame, call me Auntie Olga,” she insists. Her achievements are monumental, yet it quickly becomes clear that the term “self-importance” does not figure in Auntie Olga’s dictionary. Her life has been dedicated not to her own betterment (as is evidenced by the simple nature of the furniture and fittings in her house) but to caring for other people, notably the needy children of her birthplace Guyana and Barbados, her adopted country. Over the last 57 years, Auntie Olga’s Needy Children Fund has provided assistance for thousands of Guyanese and Barbadian youngsters with school uniforms, shoes, school books, toys and money. Daily, her mailbox is crammed with letters from parents requesting help from the fund. But she does not let her obviously huge heart rule her head and personally visits each applicant’s home before granting aid. “I look to see if there is genuine need. I can sense genuine poverty right away. This beggar is a chooser and nobody can pull the wool over my eyes.” A tall and striking figure, she uses her sparkling blue eyes and strong but soothing voice to great effect, and makes her points with sweeping hand gestures. Her acute sense of humour reveals itself when she points out the countless framed awards which occupy almost every inch of counter and wall space. “That’s my Dame of St. Andrew (the female equivalent of Sir for a British Knighthood) certificate, next to the MBE (Most Excellent order of the British Empire) while, over there, you can see the GCM (Gold Crown of Merit). The only one that’s missing is the RIP!” Clearly, that particular ‘honour’ is not an issue because Auntie Olga is overflowing with life and she talks with enormous passion as she answers my questions about how she has come to be a legend in her own lifetime. You were born the youngest of 9 children in Guyana in 1918. What sort of childhood did you have? My parents were descendants of Portugese immigrants from Madeira. Six of my siblings died before I was born and there was a huge age gap between my brother, sister and myself. To me, they were adults. I was a sickly child and suffered from malaria for many years. I was also a dunce and left school with no academic qualifications. But I loved to read, and it was reading that salvaged my life. Did your difficult childhood influence the way you treat the beneficiaries of the Needy Children’s Fund? Yes, I believe that my childhood circumstances were a blessing because I knew what it was like to crave attention. I now insist on seeing school reports from all the children that we help from the Fund. I don’t care if they are bottom of the class as long as they have ticks in the regular attendance and good behaviour boxes. Every child needs praise and I always find something good to say about each of them. I also encourage them to read. You cannot become a fully-rounded person if you don’t read. You first hit the headlines as a singer. How did this come about? All of my family sang – admittedly mostly in the bath! I played the mandolin but found singing easier. When I was 17, I applied to perform on Radio Demerara, then the only radio station in the country, and was paid 75 cents to sing two songs. I continued to enjoy singing engagements for many years and was honoured to be compared with Dame Vera Lynn, the famous British singer who entertained the Allied troops during World War II. I used to love singing her songs like We’ll Meet Again and The White Cliffs of Dover. Was it that performance on Radio Demerara that led to a lifelong career in broadcasting? Yes, I was offered a presenter’s job, much to my amazement because women did not do broadcasting in Guyana in those days. Indeed, they were not allowed to read the news! Of course, I soon changed that because I wanted to do more than host music programmes and read out wedding and death announcements. I was determined to become the first female news-anchor and I soon realised that ambition. They were exciting times and I loved the outside broadcasts. What was the catalyst for starting the Radio Demerara Needy Children’s Fund? I had just returned to the studio after singing at a leper colony, around Christmas time in 1952, when somebody told me about two little boys who were unable to attend a seasonal concert because they didn’t have enough clothes. I made an on-air appeal and immediately received an avalanche of garments, toys and money. Realising that I had more donations than needy recipients, I aired a further appeal for other deprived children to come forward and then had more children than donations. The obvious solution was to establish a Fund. How did you get the name of ‘Auntie Olga’? It was not, as most people think, bestowed on me by nephews and nieces. I was a very precocious little girl and insisted on being called Auntie in the family home. Why did you move to Barbados in 1963? My late beloved husband Dick, who passed away in 1989, was about to retire from his job in the sugar industry. He was deeply concerned with the way politics were going in Guyana. When I was growing up there, there were no divisions between the different racial communities. But racial prejudices began to raise their ugly heads in the 1980s so, for the sake of our two children, we decided to emigrate to Barbados. It was no problem for me because I knew the island well, having enjoyed several singing engagements there. Did your reputation follow you to Barbados? Yes, I quickly secured a job with Rediffusion Radio, which was a sister station to Demerara in Guyana. I hosted a women’s programme and established Yours Truly Olga, a programme with a philosophical bent accompanied by appropriate music. This proved to be popular and it is still broadcast every Sunday. In 1997, I was honoured to be the first woman to be inducted into the Caribbean Broadcasting Hall Of Fame and I didn’t retire from full-time broadcasting until I was well into my seventies. Did you start the Barbados Needy Children’s Fund soon after you moved there? Yes, it was modelled on the successful Guyana project and it gathered momentum very quickly. We established a number of fund-raising initiatives, some of which have become annual events. The biggest of these is the Ship Inn Fun Run, which started 20 years ago and which raised over BDS$43,000 (US$21,800) last year. It is thanks to the goodwill of all those individuals and organisations which have supported the Fund that we are where we are today. You know, an old lady came up to me recently and said she had ‘a little something’ for the Fund. The ‘little something’ turned out to be the fortnightly pension payment she had drawn that day. Do you ever come across any of the children you helped in the early days of the Fund? Yes, all of the time. It gave me a great thrill when an accountant presented me with a cheque at a swanky hotel recently. He told me afterwards that he had once been one of my needy children Do you have a large team to help you to administer the Fund? Some people say that I have achieved miracles, but those miracles only came about courtesy of all my loyal and hard-working helpers who make it possible for me to collect and distribute the gifts. And there are all those marvellous people who yell out “we love you, Auntie Olga” and “keep up the good work” as I drive past places like the rum shops, supermarkets and even the madhouse! Those people inspire me. When I was made a Dame, I accepted the honour on behalf of all my supporters. Do you plan to slow down now that you have reached the grand old age of 90? I’ve had my wings clipped a little because I haven’t been able to drive since the knee operation, but otherwise it is business as usual. I’m already planning this year’s Christmas Cruise on the Harbour Master. As ever, we will have 100 needy children and their parents on board and each child will be fitted out with T-shirts and pants beforehand. At the end of the cruise, each child will receive a gift appropriate to their age and sex. I still present two radio programmes every Sunday and write a weekly column in the Nation newspaper. And, of course, I enjoy regular visits from my two children and their families, including two great-grandchildren. |
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