From tragedy to triumph

With tears in her eyes, 18-year-old Mikayla Brown proudly spoke about her desire to one day own her own hair salon, a dream inspired by her mother, who died tragically when she was just 10 years old.

Brown was one of 63 students awarded at the Child Protection and Family Services Agency’s educational achievement award ceremony on Thursday. She passed six Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate subjects with three at grade two and three at grade three. Currently, Brown, who is a past student of the Jonathan Grant High School in St Catherine, is in her first year at the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean, pursuing an associate degree in business administration. She told THE WEEKEND STAR about her entrepreneur dreams.

“I grew up with her (her mother) and I was very close to her, so I went to work with her a lot and the environment really drew me in and just watching her really inspired me,” she said.

In 2015, Brown’s mother was killed in a murder-suicide, after which Brown was placed in State care. But after hearing about the incident, her mother’s cousin, Shawn Franklin, and his wife Delcita Morgan-Franklin quickly took her in.

“We always loved Mikayla,” said Morgan-Franklin, adding that she is extremely proud of her foster daughter.

“Seeing what Mikayla has gone through, her achievements just show me how resilient she is. She’s the type of child you don’t have to worry about because she never gives up, she doesn’t limit herself,” she added.

In addition to the emotional trauma, Brown also has to deal with physical challenges. She was born with a club foot for which she had to do surgery a few months after her birth. She has one fully developed leg and walks with crutches. Despite her disability, she considers herself capable of doing everything she sets her mind to because her mother did not treat her any different.

“Growing up I didn’t know I had a disability because she treated me like a normal child, and I think that’s why I have the mindset I do now. Like how people say ‘you don’t act disabled’, I realise that I just don’t acknowledge it because I grew up as a normal kid because of her,” she said. Morgan-Franklin said that Brown has never allowed her disability to stop her.

“All of us realise she has a challenge except her. I don’t think she realises she’s disabled, but she’s a brilliant child. I don’t worry about her because she’s smart and I am so proud of her. There were moments that she even cried doing chemistry, but we knew she could do it,” she said. Brown, who is from Spanish Town, expressed her gratitude for foster family for surrounding her with a great deal of love and care. The Franklins have two biological sons, and another daughter who they took in after her mother died of breast cancer. She is now a university graduate.

“I’m so grateful for them. Not everyone gets to have a loving family or to be cared for, so I’m really happy that I do,” Brown said. Morgan-Franklin advocated for more Jamaicans to open their homes to foster children in State care.

“If we can open our homes just to give a child the chance to be the best version of themselves, we should, because I don’t know if Mikayla would have managed in a State care… . Sometimes it was really hard but God provided,” she said.

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