What a beautiful sentiment to reflect on the love shared with family and friends while growing up in a home filled with warmth.
Thank you, dear Mom and Dad. We continue to love you.
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| Mom & Dad, Doll & Raffick Abasali |
It speaks to the deep bonds, cherished memories, and the sense of belonging that shape who we have become. At this very time, we recall and honor these memories!
Writing this, addressing our family and friends, our loved ones!
Whoever came to our home, you were the heart of our humble abode.
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| Abasali home of love |
Our kitchen, where meals were shared; the living room, where stories unfolded; and the porch, where laughter echoed. What sights, smells, or sounds instantly transport us back?
When thinking of home, any one of us can remember those who made our home feel alive: family, friends, and even pets!
Wondering, reflecting on your presence, the funny jokes we shared, our spontaneous laughing, and the comforting of each other was so widespread, it showed our togetherness. The fun and the enjoyment were indeed exhilarating!
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| The Abasali Boys |
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| The Abasali Girls |
The love amongst us showed in multiple ways. It is the unspoken language of love! What tiny acts of care still linger in our hearts?
No one said it aloud, but we knew we were loved. Many lessons are carried forward.
How did that love shape us? Did it teach us generosity and resilience? These traditions and values are still kept alive deep inside our hearts.
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| Mammy Doll |
Because of them, we grew to know how home changed us as we grew up and then left for greener pastures. We still acknowledge each one of you!
We quietly ponder these cherished memories as we live each day.
Oh, how we wish we could all go back in time to hold and embrace every single moment!
If we could return, we'll tell one another, "Oh, thank you for being there at our stomping grounds." It sure was a delight.
Such is the love of our childhood home.
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| Our Providence Circular home |
For our home environment lighted up with our laughter, our joyfulness mixed with the music as we danced together. Yes, the "lights" came on, and everyone was safe inside!
The joy feels meaningful. I feel so much gratitude for all of you, family and friends, for all those shared moments; they’re powerful to revisit on any day. It is timeless!
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| Visiting Aunty Babsie at her home |
Mrs. Ursula Mapp Bleasdell, our Auntie Babsie, and our dad shared an unspoken pact on how to go about caring for their families as we, the young children, grew up.
For Auntie Babsie and our father confided in each other, sharing many heart-to-heart exchanges of their views when our home was being constructed, for they were close friends indeed.
As a perceptive young child, I was privy to some of these discussions every time I came onto the building site to see for myself how the beginning of a new home in my life was unfolding.
They used our sizable home as a base and discreetly organized together a core group of adult families consisting of the Abasalis, the Mapps/Bleasdells, the Look Loys, and the Gomes. And they reached out to their other nearest and dearest folks in our community.
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| Auntie Babsie |
They reserved our home to host get-togethers on 'Old Year's Night' and 'Independence Night.' Other functions and fundraising took place at our residence.
This down-to-earth group was instrumental in organizing projects to raise funds for the building of Holy Cross College.
Such events comprised Christmas carol singing and a Kiddie Carnival band, among other fundraising ventures. The members of the "A-Teens" group comprised the children of this group of concerned adults.
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| Beverly Gomes-Nunes, Moyin Abasali-Lesperance, Dianne Gomes-Cedeno |
This was on account of Auntie Babsie belonging to the Holy Cross College Management Committee, the Building Committee, and the Fundraising Committee.
The Fundraising Committee of Holy Cross College was comprised of the Management Committee and a few influential persons in and out of Arima.
This Fundraising Committee of Holy Cross College included our pop, Raffick Abasali, who owned a "Farm and Garden Supplies" store in our town of Arima and was a director of BWIA.
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| Raffick Abasali |
Apart from using his business experience and management style expertise, he graciously consented to the use of our premises for the raising of funds for the building of Holy Cross College.
As a side note, our dad picked Holy Cross College as 'his' first choice of secondary schools for me when I sat the Common Entrance Examinations.
Given that he had invested so much in the college, he felt Holy Cross College was worth more than his efforts, having garnered so much standing to become the top pick.
Holy Cross College went on to become the pinnacle of education in East Trinidad, as CIC and QRC were the leading institutions of secondary learning in North Trinidad.
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| Anthony Hing King Look Loy & Auntie Babsie at the Holy Cross College 50th Anniversary |
Auntie Babsie’s sister, Callistra “Baby” Barnes (deceased), was Hing King’s wife. Hing King Look Loy served as a member of the Board of Holy Cross College Arima for several years.
Interestingly and incidentally, I have been the one instrumental in documenting the history of Holy Cross College ever since.
I opted to fully record and chronicle it on a Holy Cross College website that I created and maintain to this day.
This narrative details how some of our parents helped contribute to the building of Holy Cross College in Arima, started by the Dominican Order of Preachers.
For a long time, our modest Abasali family had enjoyed a measure of privacy, as the whole report was never told.
However, I am now choosing to tell this story.
You see, in 2021, after I got a second stroke that almost took my life, I decided I should take the opportunity to share this account.
Our parents' big hearts saw to the needs of our Arima community. The humble beginnings of this group were consistently thinking about the care and nurturing of our townspeople.
These said adults even entered local politics in the Arima Borough.
When they realized that Arima was not being properly represented, they forthrightly formed their own party group, contested the local elections, and won.
Our father became an alderman, and so did Auntie Babsie. Cecil Gomes became the deputy Mayor of Arima. They chose Rupert Clovis as the Mayor of Arima.
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| Beverly Gomes-Numes, Kimlan Ma Gomes, Dianne Gomes-Cedeno, Cecil Pa Gomes |
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| Sheldon and Larry top cricketers at Holy Cross College, Arima |
Sheldon, Gregory, and Larry Gomes attended Holy Cross College. They made their mark in sports locally and regionally. Larry went on to carve out a name for himself and his family by becoming an international cricketer in the greatest West Indies team of our era.
All of our parents wanted to see Arima prosper. They wanted the best for our little town of Arima. History does not tell of the deeds of these caring souls. But their heartfelt efforts have continued to ensure our townspeople grow and develop.
Mrs. Ursula "Auntie Babsie" Bleasdell tried to further use politics to serve as a representative of Arima. She was unsuccessful in her bid.
She realized that the noble pursuit of representation, called politics, is not a truthful calling as serving God wholeheartedly. For in the world, God calls us to be apart, to be His chosen. So she embarked on her more deeply spiritual path, serving God.
She started and developed her Word of Life Prayer Community in her hometown of Arima, being the founder of this first Charismatic community in Trinidad.
She was largely responsible for the formation of charismatic prayer groups all over the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, her birthplace.
Holy Cross Chapel served as a beacon of light in those early days of the expansion of charismatic prayer groups.
Auntie Babsie was effectively used by God in many areas of the church, touching hearts and inspiring countless conversions.
She went on to become a Catholic Charismatic Renewal pioneer and internationally renowned Catholic Charismatic preacher and author.
She wrote three books: Growing in Praise; Babsie, Go Teach My People; and Refresh Your Life in the Spirit.
She ministered to laity and clergy and spoke at conferences, retreats, and gatherings throughout Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean, the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, Ireland, and England.
Our parents were trying to give us a form of stability to start off in life. Their enduring gift continues to transform our lives.
So all of us youths who grew up having our home as a safe sanctuary for enjoyment and learning had our parents as loving adult supervision.
It was like a training ground for the children and young adults of our community. Following their lead, we were led to become the best versions of ourselves. Our adulthood surely has profited from our parents' efforts.
Our parents were quite unknowingly our teachers and mentors, who were firm believers in God Almighty.
We should consider ourselves extremely blessed to have a solid foundation that our parents gave us. They gave us the confidence to continue living a life for which we are so exceedingly grateful.
Our dedicated mom was a pillar of support in her own way.
Our enduring mom, our matriarch, played a gallant role in shaping our lives, too. Our home surroundings were always filled with her beautiful roses, tuberoses, dahlias, orchids, cactus plants and flowers.
We also had a thriving home kitchen garden. The lettuce we planted, when it was harvested, was sold in one of the local supermarkets.
This ultimately led our father and mother to establish a 'Farm and Garden Supplies' shop in the heart of Arima, by the Dial, which is the most distinguishing mark of our Arima town.
Our farm and garden store supplied all the farmers and gardeners in East Trinidad.
Our mother was forever giving free, loving advice due to her planting prowess, for she literally possessed 'a green thumb.'
Her favorite words were "Here, and take some flowers with you to your home."
And those who benefited from receiving her free flowers were complaining to her that she should not give away her flowers. But that was her inherent way in order to get blessings from God for us, her family.
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| A Dahlia Flower |
Our resourceful mother continued her journey of life by sharing her caring counsel as a tender mom. She earned the nickname "Mammy Doll" because she became like a mother to all who came across her loving attributes.
Now these deeply felt recollections and experiences serve to rediscover and, more importantly, pay heartfelt homage to our dear parents and guardians, who touched so many lives that graced our home.
Our parents were the wind beneath our wings. Whenever we took the courage to fly high, we saw what their love afforded us—a beautiful world they helped build for us.
A panoramic view we hover over includes our Arima with the beacon on the hill, Holy Cross College.
Our loving dad, who was affectionately and respectfully called "Pa Raffick or Boss," died very young at forty-eight years of age. However, he lived a life of extraordinary quality, having accomplished so much in his short lifetime.
Our dear, loving parents inspired us with the way they lived their own lives. By being gracious, kind, and doing things with a good heart. They succeeded in bringing out the highest good in all of us. We felt proud to emulate them. What greater tribute can we pay to them?
Reflecting reverently on a moving time in our lives!
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God's continued blessings to all our parents, Holy Cross College, and our beloved community of Arima.
Isaiah 1:19 states, "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land."
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