Trouble Comes in Threes

February 2000 Table of Contents

TROUBLE COMES IN THREES FOR CLARA

Just about everybody on Abaco suffered from Hurricane Floyd, but some suffered more than others. Sixteen year old Clara Alcime of Hope Town entered September 1999 as Deputy Head Girl at Abaco Central High School and the youngest member of her family: mother, father, three brothers and a sister. Along came Floyd and her world was turned upside down.

Hurricane Floyd filled the Alcimes' wooden house with sand and they had to move to a cement block house during the storm. A week or so later they were able to move back into their wooden house but a gasoline generator blew up and set their house alight. Clara and her family lost everything they owned.

At this stage, Clara and her family were giving praise for life after such adversities. Then came the cruelest blow. Clara's father died suddenly on 20th November of a pulmonary embolism.

It was a fall season Clara will always remember. But she remained cheerful in public, though admitting to feeling 'really depressed' in private. The Hope Town community rallied around to help her and her family, along with her church - St Francis de Sales - and the Pilot Club. She also received assistance from high school teacher Mrs Isobel Sherman so that her Grade 12 course books could be replaced.

With the academic term at school truncated by three different hurricanes, Clara's preparations for the national BGCSE examinations in May and June have suffered a setback, along with all the Grade 12 students at Abaco Central High School. If Clara is representative of the high school students, they'll do just fine despite the adversities.

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