History-making Lion, Maxine Cummings, is a ‘Special Person’

May 29, 2016 News

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 “To me there is always a pleasure in helping other people. You feel a sense of satisfaction when you see the smiles on the faces of some people…I feel sometimes that if we give people an opportunity to be able to help themselves, it can help them much more than having them stretching out their hands continuously.”

By Sharmain Grainger

Leadership is not a quality that all human beings possess. In fact, being dedicated to a noble cause and

remaining committed to same while being humble is not always achievable.
However, our ‘Special Person’ this week, Maxine Cummings, is one individual who embodies all of the above.
It is perhaps safe to say that her name has already been etched in the annals of history, having dedicated herself not only to her family, but the wider community. She is best known for her steadfast involvement in the Lions Club Movement.

EARLY DAYS
Born Maxine Semple on September 29, 1957, she was the eldest of three children born to the union of Norman and Joyce Semple. New Amsterdam, Berbice was home to the Semple family.
According to Cummings, although her mother passed away about 10 years ago, her father (featured as a ‘Special Person’ in Nov 2011), who is a retired Trade Unionist and a one-time Head of the Guyana Public Service Union and Chief Labour Officer, still resides in the Ancient County.
While in New Amsterdam, Cummings recalled attending the St. Mary’s Carmalite Covent School before moving on to the Berbice High School.
Immediately out of school she worked for a short period at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court as a clerk. She was, however, fortunate to secure a scholarship which allowed her to travel to Russia to pursue studies in Agriculture. In her early days she also made history by becoming arguably the first female Guyanese to be granted a scholarship of this nature to study at the Kuban Agriculture Institute in the southern part of Russia.

The desire to delve in the field of agriculture came naturally to the young Maxine. Perhaps it was her father’s dedication to his small kitchen garden that had long stimulated her interest. “From school I knew I was interested in agriculture and seeing my father in his own little kitchen garden I believe helped,” Cummings said.
Cummings’ studies in Russia lasted for five and a half years. Upon her return in 1985 she was able to secure a job at the Guyana Sugar Corporation as an Agronomist. “I worked in research since I was there, so from 1985-1987, I was working primarily with sugar cane breeding,” Cummings recounted.
But it was around 1987-1990 that sugar cane breeding was on pause. Cummings recounted that “we got into diversified crops. I did do some of the evaluation of some of the other crops that we were involved with at the time…we were interested in things such as cow pea and soya bean as a fodder. So we did quite a bit of evaluation of those looking for the best types to grow here.”
However, with the return of Booker Tate, cane breeding again became a regular feature.
Thirty-one years later, Cummings is still employed at the same company in the elevated position of Manager of the Breeding and Selection Department within its Agriculture Research Centre.
Her unreserved commitment has not only been very visible in her profession and community service, but also in her family life. In fact Dr. Cummings has remained committed to a marriage that has already spanned a period

of 31 years. Her husband, Dr. Rudolph Cummings, is the Programme Manager of Health Sector Development at the Caricom Secretariat. The two are parents to a son who is currently pursing studies overseas.
According to Mrs. Cummings, remaining committed to anything is not always an easy task but rather “it takes some amount of compromise…sometimes we are too hasty in making certain decisions.”
She, moreover, has credited cautious actions for her being able to evolve professionally, in family life and as a person who is very appreciated by many.

DEDICATED AND QUALIFIED
A resident of Tucville, Georgetown, Maxine Cummings first joined the Lions Club movement in 1994. According to her, she was invited to be a part of the D’Urban Park Lions Club which was chartered one year prior.
By 1995 she officially became a member of the Club, and by the following year was elected Secretary. She rose through the ranks quite effortlessly, becoming not only the Director of the Board, but President.
She was privileged to move from one tier to the next. She eventually became a Zone Chairperson in 2005, having responsibility for seven of the Clubs in Guyana. In order to emphasise the prestige of her elevation in the Lions

movement, Cummings explained that “in Guyana we have 19 Lions Clubs, with six to seven Clubs in a single Zone. I was Zone Chair for what is called Zone 2C, which represents clubs in Georgetown, Bartica and Kwakwani.”
But by 2007 she was elected to hold the capacity of Region Chair. This essentially meant being tasked with the responsibility of overseeing all of the Clubs in Guyana. She served for a period of one year. But her elevation in the movement did not stop there. By 2008 she became the Cabinet Secretary/Treasurer, working along with the District Governor who at the time was Mr. Ivor English.
It certainly was not a struggle for her to climb to prominence in the hierarchy of the Lions movement. In fact by 2014 she made unprecedented history when she was elected the first female Guyanese to be named District Governor.
There have been female District Governors from Suriname and Trinidad, but never before had Guyana achieved this feat. In order to become a delegate for the position of District Governor, a member of the Lions Club is thoroughly examined.
“They look at your abilities ranging from your leadership skills and the positions you would have held over the years. To be a District Governor you need to have served as your Club’s President and at least Zone Chairperson,” explained Cummings, who, based on the various positions she held, was long qualified for the post.
“I knew I was qualified, but to be honest at first I wasn’t really interested. I didn’t want to do it; I didn’t feel I could do it and be successful,” she recollected. But she was nudged considerably to adopt a frame of mind to take on the task. Among her chief ‘cheerleaders’ was the now deceased, Deborah Backer, who was both an attorney-at-law and Member of Parliament at the time. But Cummings was convinced that Backer, who was then the Charter President for the D’Urban Park Lions Club, was more

suited for the position of District Governor.
“She encouraged me. I remember Debbie calling me and saying ‘Maxine, you have to prepare yourself, because you have to go up for the Governor position’…I even told her ‘the time you are wasting in the politics, why don’t you go and become Governor, because you are likely to be more successful there,’” said Cummings, as she recalled that Backer was then within the ranks of the parliamentary opposition. She eventually gave in to a very determined Backer.

“SHE NEVER EVEN SAW IT HAPPEN”
Cummings was first elected to become the Second Vice District Governor, after which she was prepped for the role of District Governor. Backer would however pass away before Cummings was elected to the position of District Governor at a Lions International Convention in Suriname. “She never even saw it happen,” said an almost despondent Cummings.
As District Governor, she explained, she was tasked with the administration of the District which meant checking on all of the Clubs in all of the sub-districts spread across Guyana, Trinidad and Suriname.
And according to Cummings, she was able to visit all of the Clubs but one. The only Club that was not graced with her presence was Kwakwani. “Everybody looks forward to having the Governor visit their club, and they understandably feel slighted if you don’t visit,” said Cummings, as she noted that there was a very plausible reason for this state of affairs.
“The road to Kwakwani was impassable, so it was very difficult for us to work out that visit to Kwakwani, but I communicate with the members and I’ve told them that I still owe them that visit…because of that road link problem, they are generally not afforded visits from as many Governors,” Cummings related.
Cummings served successfully as District Governor for her designated one year (2014-2015) and has since assumed the position of Council Chairperson, a position that she will continue to serve in until the end of June this year. A Surinamese woman has since succeeded Cummings as District Governor.
Lions Club International is regarded as the global leader in community service. And, according to Cummings, the movement is gearing to celebrate 100 years of existence next year. And of course a grand celebration in Chicago, United States, will commemorate this milestone, she revealed.

FOUNDATION
The Lions Club International traditionally has been known for its work with the blind, but has evolved as one of the most recognised organisations globally that has been integrally involved in many aspects of community service, ranging from helping persons affected by natural disasters to health issues.
“We are always on the frontline helping and we have a foundation to which members are encouraged to make contributions. Now the money that goes to that Foundation is what is used worldwide if there are disasters,” according to Cummings. And help from Lions Club International is always forthcoming in times of disaster to any country that has a Lions movement.
“We have given help to Haiti, Dominica, Japan…contributions made to the Foundation are disbursed wherever there is a need,” said Cummings, who pointed out that among the health issues that Lions International has been helping to address is that of river blindness.
Scientifically known as Onchoericiasis and also referred to Robles disease, river blindness is caused by infection with the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus. Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin and blindness.
In addition to its involvement in the eradication of river blindness, Cummings said that the Lions movement has also been working towards bringing an end to the scourge of measles.
The effort of Lions International is complemented by funding from American business magnate and philanthropist, Bill Gates, and his wife Melinda, Cummings informed. She added that “they are matching whatever money Lions put up for measles so that the disease can be eradicated worldwide.”
On the local scene, though, Cummings said that eye screening for children, mainly those preparing for the National Grade Six Assessment, is a regular feature. And this undertaking is especially popular during the month of October, annually, which is recognised as the month for sight. A day in the month, October 13, is designated as World Sight Day.
On this day, Cummings said, many Clubs facilitate screening for children, and according to her “we have found that a lot of the children have been found wanting. We have found some children with glaucoma. We have also found that some parents don’t believe that their children are not seeing well. Some of them believe that it is ‘tricks’ they (children) are playing, but many of them are in fact in need of spectacles to help them to see better,” said Cummings.
Lions Clubs have also been involved in providing services such as reading and remedial classes to primary aged children as well as visual and dental care. These services are not only provided to children but also the elderly, Cummings added.
“We have even partnered with the Ministry of Health…I recall one time when they had this big measles eradication drive and we went into the Sophia area with the Ministry of Health. We were actually walking door to door bringing the people out to get vaccinated. We have worked along with them (Health Ministry) with diabetes awareness, and now we are also focusing on cancer awareness, because we have lost two members to this disease,” said Cummings.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
While the Lions movement in the past was focused a great deal on small community projects such as the painting of pedestrian crossing and road signs, Cummings asserted that such activities are now relegated to the Leo movement, which encourages the involvement of younger people.
Being a part of the massive movement, whether as a young person or an adult, Cummings noted that it is generally intended to offer personal development. Added to this, she said that it offers the capacity to engage in community work not merely independently but as a recognised group.
“Through this you are able to work as a community versus you doing something single-handedly…it does help to be a part of this movement, and there are a lot of opportunities to be had from the international body, because there is always a programme. There are programmes on leadership development among others that people can use in their day to day lives,” added Cummings.
But being a part of a Lions Club should not only be triggered by word of mouth, as according to Cummings, there should be an engrained desire to be a part of an organisation which has a main goal of helping the less fortunate. She, however, noted that in so doing, members are able to make friends and even travel the world where Lions International Conventions are held.
“For me, some of the places I have visited I probably would not have visited if I wasn’t part of a Lions Club…I have been to Australia, South Korea, Thailand and this year we are going to Japan…as a group we can do so much, whether it is being of help to needy people here or as a group travelling and expanding our horizons.”
But there is no better feeling than helping others.
“To me there is always a pleasure in helping other people. You feel a sense of satisfaction when you see the smiles on the faces of some people…I feel sometimes that if we give people an opportunity to be able to help themselves it can help them much more than having them stretching out their hands continuously,” said Cummings.

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