Given this holy Paschal/Easter season, the Sunday Guardian sought out the busy, affable Sister Roberta O’Flaherty at the Credo Foundation for Justice. Sister Roberta has been serving T&T since she arrived from Ireland almost 40 years ago. Born in Dublin, she entered the Holy Faith Sisters in the 1960s and took her vows as a Sister in 1971. During her early years in Trinidad, she was principal of St Catherine’s Preparatory School in Sangre Grande, then St Monica’s in Port-of-Spain for one year and finally Holy Faith Secondary School, also in Port-of-Spain. She later joined Servol and held the position of co-ordinator of Servol Training and Resource Centre.
A founding member of the Credo Foundation for Justice (CFJ), she is currently the executive director with overall responsibility for its four Drop-In and Residential Development Centres for Socially Displaced and Abused Children and Youth.
At this post-Carnival Lenten time what message would you like to give to T&T? What does Easter mean to you?
A wise old Trini man once complained to his employer, “You does always see what I doesn’t do and does never see what I does do”. I’m afraid there’s a bit of that myopia in all of us. As we celebrate this great Easter season, we are challenged to open our eyes and see good, beauty, possibility and effort. It is so easy to be overwhelmed by our daily news, by poverty, crime and violence and the blatant inequitable distribution of resources. We should certainly be greatly concerned by these but not allow ourselves to be paralysed by them.
This Paschal celebration which commemorates the death and resurrection of Jesus invites us to reflect on the triumph of God’s grace over evil and the many resurrection experiences in our own lives, the daily miracles of life that we can sometimes miss; the beauty of life around us, the person who succeeds in giving up drugs, alcohol or cigarettes after a long struggle, the disappointments which somehow, in the end, turn out to be a blessing. It calls us to be people of hope who, in the words of Kierkegaard, live with a passion for possibility.
Who were the people who have influenced you the most?
It is well known that our lifelong attitudes to ourselves, others, life in general and God are learned while we are still very young, so there is no doubt that the greatest influence in my life has been my parents. I grew up in a stable, loving home where trust abounded and independence and responsibility were encouraged. We never considered ourselves an overly religious family, but we had a strong belief in a God we knew loved us, cared about us and is all powerful. This conviction has sustained me in the many inevitable ups and downs of my life.
Tell us about your inspiration to embrace your vocation. When did you have your calling?
I attended Holy Faith schools in Dublin. One of the things that struck me about the Holy Faith Sisters was their humanity and their single-mindedness in fostering our all-round growth and development. In fact, so attentive were they that we innocently used to think that they must have been very lonely for us during the vacation times. Little did we know!
I have often wondered why God called me to religious life. Our Holy Faith Constitutions say, “A vocation is a gift from God” and, of course the very essence of gift is that we do not earn it. It is freely given. I have always loved life. I enjoy walking, TV, sports, going to shows, reading and socialising. I love good things and comforts too. In fact, I sometimes wonder why the things that catch my eye in a store always have to be the most expensive ones!
So the prospect of entering a convent did not really seem very appealing to me. However, I had a strong conviction that God was calling me and I wanted to follow. I have felt extremely fulfilled and happy as a Holy Faith Sister and I have never regretted answering this call.
Even in those days of flourishing religious vocations there was something counter-cultural in entering religious life. I remember with amusement wondering how to tell my friends such news, and trying to pretend in stores that our purchases were for an old aunt who was my size.
This gives me a real sense of the challenge it must be for people struggling with the possibility of a religious vocation today. However, my life experience has taught me that it is safe to step out in trust with this caring, challenging, God of ours. Once you put your trust in God, you will have no serious regrets. You may have some difficult decisions and experiences, but no regrets.
Tell our readers about your ‘Trini’ experience.
After my studies I was assigned to Trinidad and I have spent almost all my adult life here. To me Trinidad is a land of sunshine and of happy, hospitable, generous people. No book could do justice to the many ways I have been enriched during my years here. I remember well the day in standard five when I heard there was a little island in the Caribbean that had a pitch lake. Many years later when I heard that the Holy Faith Sisters had communities there, I thought, “what a wonderful place to be called to!”
Obviously, living away from my family for so long has called for a number of sacrifices too, but, on the other hand, because I am away so much, the times we spend together are very important to us and we give them priority. I feel singularly blessed in having, not one but two homelands, both of them endowed by God with such extraordinary natural beauty and wonderful loving and gifted people.
I am very grateful that over the years my ministry has allowed me to work with young and not so young people who are on the margins of society here in Trinidad. I have learned so much from their resilience, courage and generosity and from my colleagues and associates in the NGO community.
The aim of the Credo Development Centres, where I work at present, is to get children away from the streets and other abusive situations and to provide them with the personal, social and educational skills they need to become productive citizens and responsible parents of the future.
In doing so, we know that we can make an impact not only on their individual lives, but also on our overall societal problems of homelessness, drugs, crime and violence.
Creating second chances for undeserved children and their families can be a challenging task, but commitment, also sometimes called stubbornness, is something that we are good at in Credo. For me personally, a lesson I learned early in life from my mother who is a great motivator, “If you promise to do something, do it even is it calls for sacrifice”.
I am proud of the very dedicated and committed team at Credo and as I give thanks for them, and for all true Easter people who continue to hope, to support those in need, to see potential and to encourage, when others are ready to accept defeat and to give up.
I am fascinated by Trini sayings eg, Sometimish, Monkey can’t see his own tail. The best of them all for me, though, is He/she has no broughtupsy!
What is your favourite Trini meal or dish/food?
Hmm, really, I like all food, except for horse meat! However, it’s hard to beat a good Trini roti.
What daily motto do you live by?
My daily inspiration and energy are rooted in John 10:10 “I came that you may have life and have it to the full”. I believe that every person has the right to a happy, fulfilling life, to opportunities to develop his/her potential, and to experience the dignity of being able to contribute to society in return.