{"id":43,"date":"2010-02-17T20:10:38","date_gmt":"2010-02-17T20:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/eyecarecaribbean\/2010\/02\/17\/james-augustus-alves-1883-1969\/"},"modified":"2010-02-17T20:10:38","modified_gmt":"2010-02-17T20:10:38","slug":"james-augustus-alves-1883-1969","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/media-items\/james-augustus-alves-1883-1969\/","title":{"rendered":"James Augustus Alves (1883 – 1969)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MrJAMES AUGUSTUS ALVES<\/span><\/strong>
1883 \u2013 1969<\/span><\/strong>
\u201cA Pioneer in programme of services for the Blind and Visually Impaired in the Caribbean\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

James Augustus Alves, who was of African heritage, was born in Berbice, British Guiana (now Guyana), on November 10, 1883.<\/span>
During his childhood, he attended local schools where he secured an Elementary and Secondary School Education. It was reported that young James Alves suffered injury to his eyes, following an accident in a school-yard, when an unidentified object was thrown at him. He subsequently lost sight in both eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

At around the age of nineteen, James travelled to the England where he attended the Royal Normal College. His exposure at this College provided him with an insight into the developments for persons who were blind, which were taking place, internationally. Unfortunately, he encountered difficulties in acclimatising to the English Weather and suffered poor health. As a result, he was advised by his Doctor to return to the warmer climate of the Caribbean.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In 1911, Mr. Alves travelled throughout the English-speaking Caribbean seeking to convince political, business and civic leaders of the need to establish programmes of services for the blind. He subsequently decided to settle in Jamaica. Unfortunately, his stay in Jamaica was short-lived as he encountered difficulties in his attempts to start work for the blind.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, his efforts did not go unnoticed as a Methodist Priest gave him a letter of recommendation, which he took with him when he journeyed to Trinidad the following year.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Trinidad, Mr. Alves met with the acting Governor, Sir Samuel Knaggs, and presented his ideas. He, in turn, was requested to forward his ideas and suggestions to the Governor (who was overseas) on his return to office. In the interim, utilising his time well, he approached the Roman Catholic Bishop, Father J.P. Dowling, and the Anglican Bishop Father Welsh, for approval and assistance in commencing work for the blind in Trinidad and Tobago. Because the ideas were novel, they were viewed with some scepticism by the public, but received encouragement from the Clergy. On the return of the Governor, Sir George Lee Hunt, James Alves met with him, the Roman Catholic Archbishop and the Anglican Bishop. At the end of the meeting, it was agreed that before any work commenced, a census of the population of those who were blind should be taken. For James Alves, this marked a turning point and provided some hope in work for the blind.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a feat showing initiative and determination, the indefatigable James Alves travelled throughout the island, through towns and villages, by horse-drawn carts and by train, collecting data about persons who were blind. Throughout his journeys, he was accompanied by a young man who acted as his guide and provided whatever assistance he needed. At the end of the survey, he found five hundred and thirty-three blind persons (533), two hundred and forty-six males (246) and two hundred and eighty-seven females (287); and, including eleven (11) children.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Armed with the results of the survey, and with letters of support from the Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the Blind and Lady Frances Campbell (an advocate of training for the blind in the U.K.), Mr.Alves once again approached the authorities. They were so impressed with his findings that the Colonial Secretary requested the Executive Council (Governing Council) by way of a motion in the Legislature, to give support to a scheme for the education and training of persons who were blind.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1913, (the exact date is unknown), the Legislative Council approved a motion for the establishment of a scheme for the instruction of the blind in Trinidad and Tobago. The Council also approved the \u201cprincely\u201d grant of $100.00 per year for such work. The task was handed to the Industrial Training Board which appointed a Special Committee to oversee the process. The Committee comprised:<\/span>
\u00b7 C.B Franklin, Chairman.<\/span>
\u00b7 T.M. Blackman<\/span>
\u00b7 T.B. Jackson<\/span>
\u00b7 E.B. Jones<\/span><\/p>\n

On April 28th, 1914, the Committee met and took a decision to rent premises at # 43, Edward Street, Port-of \u2013 Spain, for the establishment of what was to be known as the \u201cInstitute for the Blind\u201d. Further, the Committee agreed to the appointment of Mrs. Lucinda Williams as Matron, with effect from May 1st. At that meeting, Mr. James Alves presented a list (with the personal data) of twenty-four persons who were blind and who resided in the Port-of \u2013Spain area, (including twelve, who resided at the House of Refuge \u2013 a Poor House in the town), as the beneficiaries of the first programme.<\/span><\/p>\n

The meeting later took the decision to commence preliminary work for the blind on May 18th, 1914.<\/span>
As a consequence, under Mr. Alves\u2019 guidance and with material support from numerous persons and institutions (both locally and overseas), the Institute for the Blind opened its doors on May 18th. [This later led to the observance of May 18th as \u201cFounder\u2019s Day\u201d, by persons who are blind].<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For James Alves, the achievement of this task was not all. In 1922, he fell in love and subsequently married a Trinidadian, Maude Enisnore Boddie. Following the marriage, the family took up residence at Woodbrook, a section of Port-of-Spain, where he spent the rest of his life. The union produced one offspring – a daughter, Stephanie Alves.<\/span><\/p>\n

James Alves was also well known for his extensive involvement with the Methodist Church as an Educator and Pianist. He was also involved in community affairs and regarded as a man of strong will and determination to succeed.<\/span><\/p>\n

In August 1969, he succumbed to complications following surgery at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.<\/span>
For the blind in Trinidad and Tobago, in particular, and the entire Caribbean, in general, the late James Augustus Alves holds pride of place for his sterling contribution in pioneering the introduction of services for the welfare, vocational training and education of persons who are blind.<\/span><\/p>\n

Researched by: Raphael Maule \u2013 Trinidad & Tobago<\/span>
Presented by: Frank L. Bowen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPreventing blindness and visual impairment; while restoring sight and creating opportunities for persons whose sight cannot be restored\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JAMES AUGUSTUS ALVES1883 \u2013 1969\u201cA Pioneer in programme of services for the Blind and Visually Impaired in the Caribbean\u201d James Augustus Alves, who was of African heritage, was born in Berbice, British Guiana (now Guyana), on November 10, 1883.During his childhood, he attended local schools where he secured an Elementary and Secondary School Education. It was reported that young James Alves suffered injury to his eyes, following an accident in a school-yard, when an unidentified object was thrown at him. He subsequently lost sight in both eyes. At around the age of nineteen, James travelled to the England where he …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[60,62,63,59,61],"class_list":["post-43","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media-items","tag-1883-1969","tag-caribbean","tag-guyana","tag-james-augustus-alves","tag-pioneer-visually-impaired"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyecarecaribbean.com\/site\/ecc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}