Helena Allum interviewed Wayne Naranjit for the Catholic News of August 31, 2003. During that interview he told Helena:“ I am just like everybody else, except that I'm sitting down longer than every one else.”
Wayne excelled in the classroom at school and university while living with Muscular Dystrophy. At the time of the interview he said, “George Daniel, President of Disabled People International (DPI) has told me that when I get my degree I'm getting it for all physically challenged persons in Trinidad and Tobago .”
At the time his effusive grin hinted at the fulfillment he felt in all that he had achieved so far, and the acknowledgement of the trust and confidence that George had in him.
Wayne is featured again in this issue. His amazing life has been an inspiration to those who knew him. We at the Catholic News share his eulogies with you. He died on Monday, January 17.

By Hyacinth Bonair-Agard

I first met Wayne in 1992. During the August holiday, his mother, came to see me for I was principal of St George's College at the time. She had really come to “negotiate” his acceptance at St George's . Our school, because of its physical structure, was almost the only place where he could access the secondary education to which he was entitled.

Just a word about his mother and the rest of the immediate family – the most powerful support system that I have encountered throughout my entire career. It is necessary that I turn the spotlight on Mrs Naranjit for just a while.

She was the one who provided me with the information, the knowledge that enabled me to understand the plight of the “differently abled.” That knowledge empowered me to carry the fight just a little further. It meant being able to take a stance when your friends and colleagues and even the powers that be didn't share the vision.

That experience gave true meaning to the expression “Knowledge is power,” and that is very much a part of the Wayne Naranjit story.

St George's College was fortunate to have Wayne in our midst, for our own “Special Education” was greatly facilitated from that time onwards. Before that, we were aware of the importance of mainstreaming specially challenged children in the education system, but it was Wayne 's presence, more than any other specially challenged child before him that made concrete what was an academic point.

It was his mother who proceeded to educate and enlighten us further. Wayne provided dramatic proof of the arguments that she was propounding. Most importantly we came to realise how crucial it was for the school's resources to reflect the priorities, the values and the philosophy underlying the school curriculum.

Wayne himself made this task a lot easier. His inherent dignity, his quiet confidence, his affability made you want to put things in place to assist him and facilitate his progress. His discipline, his determination was amazing: he had steeled himself to become self-reliant.

He never wanted to be a bother to anyone, or to be a burden and so, in spite of the debilitating nature of his medical condition, he was always positive and cheerful. He never developed the victim mentality and that in itself was empowering.

Wayne participated fully in the life of the school. His classmates were also fantastic. They learned how to look out for him and included him in their liming

He was at St George's to be educated himself, but he educated us by his amazing courage and determination. His achievements at the secondary level, and later on at the University are nothing short of heroic. His appetite for hard work, his continual striving for excellence meant that he had to dig deep and summon up the strength, the courage, the will to succeed, and succeed he did.

When he wrote his O'-Level exams in seven subjects and received his seven distinctions although by then it was difficult for him to even lift a pen, it became obvious, that we were dealing with extra-ordinary resolve. Wayne had to have found the hidden resources of will, the strength of character to accomplish this. He was equally successful at his A-Levels passing all his subjects.

Wayne has, therefore, left a rich legacy at St George's – not only in terms of the tangible benefits that can now be enjoyed by others because of him, but also in terms of the intangibles he left with us all.

When he moved on to university, there too, his presence created an impact. In the same way that St George's was moved to provide those physical resources that would facilitate him and all other differently - abled students, so too the university was moved to put in place a number of facilities.

The university now has in place designated wheel-chair parking, ramps to get into classrooms and walkways, and even concessions for examinations consistent with the student's physical condition.

All this and much more is part of Wayne 's legacy. Much more important than this, however, is the fact that he has left us to ponder more significant considerations – the meaning of his life and of the contribution he has made. What was his purpose and what is our own purpose?

Wayne loved the writings of Myles Munroe. Let us consider Munroe's own words when he says that each one of us was “conceived by destiny, produced by purpose and packaged with potential to live a meaningful fulfilling life.”

Wayne demonstrated just that. He needed only two more courses to obtain his degree. He was eagerly anticipating going to work and living a meaningful, fulfilling life. If he was able to do all that, his illness, paralyzing his body, but not his mind, if he was able to win against all the odds, we must then ask ourselves, “What indeed is my own purpose?

We must try, like Wayne , to dig deep within, to summon up the courage, even in the face of adversity – to find the raison d'etre of our own existence.

His life reminds us of the words of another inspirational leader Nelson Mandela who said; “We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.”

Wayne obviously made manifest the glory of God and continues, therefore, to remind us that it is not just in some of us. That may well be Wayne Naranjit's greatest legacy.

by Dr Hassina Hosein-Perreira.

I knew Wayne virtually all his life. Even at age three, Wayne enjoyed life thoroughly. He was always up to some antics, and his jolly face hid from us the fact that he was stricken with a disease that still has no cure. As a toddler his infectious laughter would always round the corners before his little body appeared – his symptoms hidden in fun and play.

Eventually the diagnosis was made: Progressive Muscular Dystrophy.

At St George's , Wayne was in his prime. He had already yielded his life to the Great Physician, Jesus Christ, and affirmed daily his faith that God could and would heal his body. Unable to be active physically, Wayne studied the sports – and knew his international Cricket or World Cup football. He attended cricket at the Oval; he went to cultural events.

He was well-rounded – arts, science, sports, music – he knew them all. To fully understand the scope of Wayne 's achievements, we need to understand the nature of his disorder. Imagine all the muscles you can control in your body becoming progressively weaker over the years.

Imagine being unable to lift your hands to ease an itch or to hold a spoon. Imagine being unable to shift position while seated. When he was set into a position he would just have to stay there until someone assisted him, or gravity pushed him over – absolutely unable to do for himself, basic things that we take for granted. He retained the use of finger muscles and it was these he used to tap out or write out answers to examination questions.

His mind never deteriorated; on the contrary, he seemed to grow wiser and more alert as the days went by.

Imagine having to live with the knowledge that the end result for all persons with this disorder was death in the teens or twenties, from being unable to move the muscles of respiration. Yet to be determined – in faith - to pursue the kind of life that Wayne did.

Prayer, a sturdy optimism born of his trust in the Lord, and the determination of his parents, would play a large role in his achieving the goals he had set.

When during the August vacation last year, he was offered job at the National Energy Corporation, he was overjoyed. The dream of a lifetime come true. He was going to work to earn his own salary. His first month's income went entirely to the Lord. The rest he invested.

Up to three weeks ago Wayne did not appear to have any other problems. He did appear a little tired, perhaps a tad uncomfortable. Before we could get all the testing done that would have indicated how serious this turn was, Wayne left for his eternal home.

He's there now. There is no more discomfort, no weakness or tiredness. If we listen we will hear him saying “Lift up those tired knees, rid yourself of every encumbrance and run with patience the race that God has set before you, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of your faith – until you join me here.”

See you in glory, Wayne.