Bright Clarendon teen benefits from businessman’s goodwill

Clarendon businessman Andrew 'Nazi' Mattrasingh has been assisting 19-year-old Ruddayne Peters with school expenses for the past four years, and despite the coronavirus pandemic adversely impacting his business, has decided to continue.

He has been assisting Ruddayne with a yearly grant of $100,000 to help with daily school expenses.

The Glenmuir High School past student, who attained 10 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) passes and eight Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination subjects, is in her first year at The University of the West Indies where she is reading for a degree in microbiology.

Mattrasingh, proprietor of Mattrasingh Farms in Clarendon Park, said he is committed to her continued education, and has given her a $300,000 scholarship towards her studies.

The money will be paid over three years.

My biggest motivation

"There are people out there who want to achieve, but don't have the opportunity, so if all of us who are in the position to give back do so, it is very important," the businessman said.

Ruddayne, a student athlete who participated in netball and basketball, told THE WEEKEND STAR that "His help is my biggest motivation".

She spoke feelingly of Mattrasingh and said her father's earnings from farming and charcoal burning were insufficient to make ends meet within the family.

"I'm from a low-income family so the help means a lot to me. It motivates me to do well because knowing people are investing in my future pushes me. I don't like to waste money," Ruddayne said.

Her father, Ruddarie Peters, said he too has been grateful for Mattrasingh's contribution. "It has been a tremendous help and I am very grateful. Life before the help wasn't good because I wasn't working so the help has been good," he said. He described his daughter as a humble individual who is goal oriented.

"I'm a proud father and I feel great to have a daughter like her," he said.

Noting her intention of paying the good deeds forward, Ruddayne said, "In the future when I get into my field and have a source of income, I want to help other children because I know not everyone has the resources but they have the potential."