By Sharmain GraingerDriven by God-given talent and might, and backed by a fervent passion to give back to the Guyanese community, two brothers have taken the term ‘leadership’ to new heights.It is actually hard to fathom how these young men, barely three decades old, could have such an astounding impact on a diverse society,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, having commenced a mission just about five months ago, designed to bring out the leadership quality in those with whom they interact.Astell Collins (right) and his brother AllisterHowever, they have been able to touch the lives of many, ranging from those within the military arena, religious community, and even the education system, including the New Opportunity Corps (NOC), having been granted permission by the Commander in Chief and Head of State, himself, President Donald Ramotar.But this is nothing new to Astell and Allister Collins. The two are identical twins, who from very young demonstrated that they weren’t your average brothers.In fact, they are already known internationally, but not merely through a movement they formed together called Be the One (BD1) Leadership Development in South Africa. However, it is through this very influential avenue, which has been registered as a company here, that the two are already making a very needful impact.It certainly wasn’t a decision made entirely overnight. But before unveiling more of their plans to give back to the land of their birth, and the Region as a whole, let me satisfy your desire to find out who the Collins brothers are.UPBRINGINGBorn to Selwyn Collins and Barbara Waldron on September 22, 1982, Astell Kirk and Allister Klien grew up in Campbellville Housing Scheme, Georgetown. They are the nephews of former Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Edward Collins,Cheap NHL Jerseys, who played an instrumental role in their lives, since at the age of three their father migrated to the United States leaving them to be raised by their mother.“It was just the two of us…and one of the strengths of our story is that we had each other,” said Allister, the younger of the two, during an interview with me. In fact he recounted that during his younger days in Campbellville there was a lot of “negativity and incidents of the ‘bad boy’ syndrome. Some of the guys our age would have gone to jail or sold drugs…”But aside from having a mother who was determined to see her sons amount to something meaningful, the two had a friend and mentor in the person of Gavin Robertson, who was several years older than them. In the words of Allister, “he held our hands and helped steer us through the maze of adolescence.”Throughout their upbringing, though, their mother spared nothing to ensure that they were surrounded with positive things. She ensured that they attended church regularly. School, classical piano sessions, as well as swimming classes were also a must. The typical cricket-playing on the street was certainly prohibited for them.However, they had each other to play with although, as Allister reflected, their mother was rather “big on books and us reading and developing ourselves….and despite the fact that you might top the class and had good grades she would always let you know that there was room for improvement”.They attended St Gabriel’s Primary then headed to Christ Church Secondary and subsequently St Rose’s High.But they certainly weren’t doing their best during this period of their lives as they were consumed by the “going away” syndrome.? The two were confident that their father would soon be sending for them to live with him overseas. They even went through university with the same mentality.“We were a bit over-average so we never really faltered in terms of our grades,” recalled Allister, who disclosed that it was their Uncle Edward who really had to encourage them to further their education at the university level.Starting university saw them not only applying late,Cheap NFL Jerseys, but even registering for a programme they didn’t really want to do. They applied for Biology which they did for one year before switching to Medical Technology and did quite well. They did their attachments at the Eureka Medical Laboratory and together eventually gained full-time employment there after realising that perhaps “we really weren’t going away.”Serious about lifeIt was at this point that the brothers really became serious about life and were soon embracing their mother’s desire to see them blossom professionally. This was reflected in the fact that after five months at Eureka, Allister was promoted to Quality Manager. Three months later, Astell was elevated to Branch Manager, when the company opened a subsidiary at Parika, East Bank Essequibo.The two were soon thinking about marriage and starting their own families and before long were making land purchases