Business luminary explains how he overcame bullying

Before becoming the famed businessman and leader of GraceKennedy, Douglas Orane admits he was bullied in high school in first form.

"I remember a big boy hit me in the back of my head," Orane joked. "But there are ways to rise above it, like going out and helping people. I know that I was smart so I would help people with their homework.".

Orane is the retired chairman and CEO of one of the Caribbean's largest conglomerates, providing food and financial services across the diaspora. He is the patron of the National Child Month Committee, who shared his experience at the Ministry of Education's Youth Forum last Friday, engaging students of the Corporate Area and rural schools in an insightful conversation about issues affecting the nation's youth. A student asked Orane if he ever thought of giving up and in his response, he urged students to persevere.

"There are many potholes in life I have dropped in and hurdles that I have faced. If things don't work out as they should, I view it as a lesson. You can persevere and be dedicated in life. Don't give up," Orane stressed.

Like Orane, Dr Kirt Henry, the guest speaker at the forum which was held under the theme 'Stand Up! Speak Out! Protect the rights of our Children', said that the nation's children should use their voices to bring forth a change.

"It is important to advocate for other people. You are just as powerful as the space you occupy, your power is to get together and talk about those issues that affect you. Write a column in the newspaper, vlog about it but we must use social media responsibly," he said.

Students of several secondary institutions including Holy Childhood, St Hugh's and Denbigh high schools, as well as the Salvation Army School for the Blind and the Lister Mair/Gilby High School for the Deaf, shared that bullying, inability to access information, emotional abuse from parents and abandonment, are some of the social issues affecting the nation's youth. Gabrielle Evans, a student of Denbigh High School, was recognised for forming the Mental Health Ambassadors club at the school to address mental health issues. For her actions, Henry, the director of the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica, commended her and pushed others to make that effort to make a social change.

"Understand that you matter because you are speaking out, and like the example at Denbigh High, you can create clubs and societies to address the issues - you can make that stand. Remember that you are the architects of your life, our right is our responsibility," Henry said.