Doris Mc Lennon is a ‘Special Person’“The children would come here from nine in the morning and would leave sometimes till after dark. When we finish tutoring them and listening to their issues, they would remain in my yard and play games like “dog and the bone and so on. It is a pleasure to have them around.”Doris Anetha Shelto-Mc LennonBy Rehana Ashley AhamadIn a world today, where most parents are forced to take up jobs outside of the home with hardly any time to steer their children onto the so-called ‘right path’, there are women like Mrs. Doris Anetha Shelto-Mc Lennon who choose to adopt kids from challenging surroundings and guide them accordingly.Unfortunately, there aren’t many like her around; she is a special person. For over eight years now, the children of Sophia and its environs have had another place to call home, and another woman to call mother. They fondly call her ‘Aunty Doris’. The doors to Mrs. Mc Lennon’s home are always open to the children in need of a plate of food, a place to lay their heads, a little money in their pockets or simply just someone to share their problems with. Mrs. Mc Lennon is always there for them.She was one of 13 children, born to Yvonne and Vernon Shelto. She grew up in Belfield Village, Victoria, on the East Coast of Demerara.Mrs. Mc Lennon recalls being raised in a very spiritual home.“We were taught how to appreciate God from an early age. Even our home was situated like a church- with the benches and so on.”As a little girl, Anetha, as she was most often referred to,NFL Jerseys Outlet, attended the Victoria Roman Catholic School. When she was around age 10, her entire family took ill with a severe case of food poisoning. This resulted in the death of her 12-year-old sister at the time. The incident also caught the attention of the then President Linden Forbes Burnham, who subsequently visited the family and offered to assist in setting up accommodation and jobs for them in the Matthews Ridge area. The Shelto family took up the offer and moved almost immediately after.Her parents soon gained employment and young Anetha was enrolled at the Matthews Ridge Primary School.Recalling her days there, she said that she had always been an athletic youngster, very eager to participate in sports, especially leg races. The now 52-year-old woman said that as a child, she was always eager to learn.“When I was little, I always wanted to learn more. I always felt the need to know more, and to be more than what I was.”After sitting her examination,Cheap Jerseys Free, the one now known as the National Grade Six Assessment, Anetha was awarded a place at the Bygeval Secondary School. In wanting to pursue a better education, she was ready to move back to her Victoria home in an effort to obtain a secondary education. Her parents agreed, and so they packed their bags to accompany her back to the city.But their trip was not all smooth sailing. Anetha was stranded in the vast expanse of water for seven long days and nights on a small army boat with her parents and a few other civilian passengers.Sure when she looks back at it now she would laugh, but at that time, Anetha was a terrified child who did not know whether she would’ve lived to see another day. She recalled them having to “pinch” everything they had on the boat, especially their water supply. All they had to eat was sweet potato, a ground provision that Anetha soon became fed up of.“After that incident I didn’t even want see back sweet potato. It was a long time after that I finally decided to eat it again.”In recalling how they managed to get home, Anetha explained that “a man, I think he was a civilian passenger of the boat, too, took a radio and he stand up at the front of the boat and whichever side the radio pick up signal at, he demanded that the captain take we there.”Although it was that frightening, Anetha believes that the incident somehow made her a better person; a stronger believer in God.“God was with us for that week. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have been here.”Nonetheless, she and her family survived the ordeal, arriving at her grandmother’s house safely. After spending a day there to ensure that she was all settled and ready for school, Anetha’s parents went back to Matthews Ridge.She remained with her grandmother throughout the five years of high school.She described life during that period as being quite rewarding. Not only was she able to equip herself with a sound secondary education, but she gained an insight into who she truly was.A section of the children gathered at her homeDoris Anetha Shelto was not the kind of girl who was interested in dressing up in the latest trends, and painting her face…she wanted to help people. She aimed at making a difference.After completing high school, she moved back to Matthews Ridge. There she started her first children’s group. It was more of Sunday