Walter Willis“I would rather not sit down and debate about projects; I just want to get the drawings and do the job. That’s my profession and I love it. Where the funds come from is not important to me.” By Latoya Giles Growing up in Pike Street, Kitty, and seeing his father doing a job which earned him very little, Walter Willis made the decision to cease his truant ways and buckle down to his books. This turned out to be a very wise choice – Willis in his relentless pursuit of success has become a much sought after and renowned engineer.Among many noteworthy designations, he is presently the Technical Adviser to the Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn; the Chief Engineer at the Ministry of Public Works and the Chairman of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority. Impressive to say the least!Born to Elsie Veronica Willis and Haniff Khan on the 23 of July 1949, Walter said he had a very modest childhood; one filled with pleasant memories,Camiseta Fc Barcelona 2019, even though he came from a single-parent household.“There is plenty talk about single parents now….but what about when the single parent is the father?” he reflected.The story, according to the eloquent professional, is that his mother left his father when he was just nine days old. Willis recounts that his father managed with his children without even remarrying. Merely with the help of a housekeeper who was referred to in those days as a “Nee Nee” the children were taken care of.Not many would believe that this well achieved man used to prefer to go swimming, running in the burial ground and picking fruits instead of going school.He admits that he was a truant but that the habit was short lived, for the importance of life was made clear to him in various ways. In fact, one of the things his father did to help him stop was to start “paying him”.“My father told me ‘look budday if you go to school I would give you a matinee bill to go the cinema’,Camiseta Fc Barcelona Nueva,” Willis jokingly remembers.Yes, his father had to ‘bribe’ him to go to school.“I stopped playing truant; I stopped riding the horses and donkeys and started to go to school”.He said his father worked as a driver for the luxury liner buses, but after his sight went he starting cleaning the buses. He would usually take Walter to help out on Saturday. As a young person he found it demeaning but he never told his father. His dad would often give him a small portion of the earnings.It was during one of those Saturday outings that the choice to pursue his books with sheer dedication weighed heavily on the mind of the impressionable youth.“I wanted something better…..I didn’t want to live like that and the only way I could get a better way of life was by sticking to my schoolwork.”Willis said his father always taught him that if he started something he must complete it and be honest at it. That lesson was well learned.Willis, who is versed in the world of machinery and hydraulics, was a former teacher. He recalled the early days.“The first eight years of my life I grew up in Pike Street on the railway line. I attended Campbellville Government School. We then moved to the West Coast Demerara, Plantain Walk to be specific.”It was then on to the Anglican School where he obtained his College of Precept Certificate.Walter then went to the government-aided school which was set up at West Demerara at Coghlan’s House. He pursued his O’ levels there and was successful at the examinations in 1966.In 1967 and 1968 he worked as a pupil teacher at the La Grange Primary School. During that time he did O’ levels along with the teachers who taught him at West Demerara Secondary.He was successful in Mathematics and began teaching at West Demerara Government Secondary. That was between 1968 and 1972. It was during the latter year that he “made the move” with his high school sweetheart. He explained that he and the girl he married attended the same schools and remained friends throughout the years.Walter Willis 2He fondly recounted that his wife of almost forty years, Dolly,Man City Away Kit 18/19, was riding her bicycle one night without lights and they stopped to chat about that. The connection was immediate.A serious relationship began and the next year the couple got married. The happy union produced three children.Willis has two daughters – Sandra who has two children and is married, and Sonia. His son Christopher recently graduated from Brunswick University and received a job as a practicing Assistant Professor at one of the top universities in Canada.The affable Willis began attending the University of Guyana and was awarded a Government of Guyana Scholarship in 1972.He went on to do a one-year programme in Technology and Sanitary Engineering that was completed in 1973. In that same year he began working at the Guyana Water Inc