“At a very early age, I had to forage for myself. The challenges were many, and there was nobody to spoon-feed me, so I went out and learned very quickly. I always believe that a child who struggles to get what he or she wants in life is a better child in the long run.”By Leon SuseranLike many other persons we have featured in this column, Levi Lawrence Nedd had it rough growing up. He lived with foster parents and had little or no knowledge of his biological mother or father, Levi Nedd and Vilma Andrews. As a result,Wholesale Jerseys China, he had to fend for himself and learn a lot of tasks that children should not really have to learn. He cooked, washed and sold on the streets, just to get by.At the tender age of nine,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, Nedd planted rice and fetched firewood for baking in the home. He also walked the streets selling bread, cakes and provisions as well as planting cassava, plantains, bananas and legumes on the familyLevi Neddfarm.Young Levi was also very active in the Lutheran Church at D’Edward Village and also became a Sunday School teacher. It was in church where he sang his first song at age nine—‘Our Father’ and since then he developed a passion for singing. He received requests for three encore performances.Not surprisingly, Nedd came from a family that sang. He recalled his uncle John Braithwaite more popularly known as ‘Johnny Braff’ and one of his brothers in the United States, as part of a large band. As he looks back at those days, he saw the purpose of it all. He now sees the bigger picture and appreciates the lessons life has taught him. Those struggles have shaped him into who he is today.This week’s ‘Special Person’ can be described as one-of-a-kind. Levi Nedd has a wealth of talent and has been sharing it all over for many years. He has nurtured his love for sports—volleyball to be precise—over the years and has won dozens—yes—dozens of trophies performing at various athletic events, nationally and internationally.He is the national volleyball head coach and is one of the few-afro-Guyanese whose love and passion for chutney music is as great as it comes. Yes, he writes and sings his own chutney songs!And Levi Nedd has spent the past ten years nurturing and training the future of the sugar industry. He is the person in charge at the hostel of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Training Centre at Port Mourant (GTC/PM) on the Corentyne,Cheap World Cup Jerseys, where he is the ‘Sir’ and ‘Father figure’ to over 115 young apprentices.Young Levi moved with his foster parents from Stanleytown in New Amsterdam to D’ Edward on the West Bank of Berbice where he attended the Rosignol Primary School and due to poverty, could not have attended the school at which he gained a place, the New Amsterdam Multilateral School – so he attended one much closer to home, Rosignol Secondary.After high school and the exams, Nedd, being sponsored by Blairmont Estate, entered for training at the GuySuCo Training School as a Fitter Machinist in 1979 and graduated in 1983, after which he worked at theGoalkeeper Nedd (2nd from right, back row) with the GuySuCo Berbice football team in 1980Estate. He also talked briefly about his “return” to Islam in 1981, a religion he has become fascinated with over the years, since he stated it was the religion of his ancestry (his father practiced it at a young age and converted to Christianity).In 1990, he moved completely from working at the factory to being assigned as Industrial Welfare Officer, and dealt with workers’ issues and problems.During this time and also way before, Nedd was quite a sportsman. He won several titles, including Champion Athlete for the GuySuCo sports countrywide. He was also a national athlete. He threw the javelin and mastered high jumps at the Schools’ Nationals Championships in Georgetown. However, due to poverty, Nedd could not pursue his dream of becoming a “real sportsman”.Sports suddenly became something he played only for pleasure. He played First Division Cricket while in school.Nedd, who speaks fluent French, spent a long time in the French island of Martinique playing professional football and made the national volleyball team in July 1984 – playing against countries such as Barbados, Russia, St. Lucia and Suriname – and was adjudged Best Player several times in a row. His excellent sports skills earned him world travels to over 28 countries,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, playing volleyball especially. He captained the National Volleyball Team on several occasions, too.In 1990, he attended Coaching Sessions and this eventually resulted in him becoming the National Coach of the Guyana Volleyball Association (GVA). He also has Coaching Certificates in Football and Table Tennis. Nedd did not neglect h