Arnold Aiken’s Heart for Service Earns Him National Honour

Arnold Aiken’s penchant for service was honed during his early years as a young man who was eager to participate in school life in any way that he could.

He recalls growing up in the Rollington Town community where he attended Rollington Town Primary School. He then moved on to Excelsior High School where he was one of the youngest students to be appointed a prefect in the fourth form. He also served as House Captain, School Captain and Captain of the Manning Cup Football Team. It was those early days of serving he says, that created in him a heart for service and helped to prepare him to continue to serve even in his adult years.

Arnold George Hope Aiken was one of 143 Jamaicans that were invested with National Honours and Awards at the virtual Service of Investiture on National Heroes Day, Monday (October18). He was conferred with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer for his contribution to community development through the Kingston Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and his church.

He tells JIS News that his journey with the Kingston YMCA began in 1996, shortly after a fire razed the organisation’s Hope Road headquarters.

“They had to build a new auditorium and a new meeting place. I was a civil engineer with Tankweld and we were the contractors who had the responsibility of building the new auditorium and facilities and so that’s how I got involved with the YMCA,” he recalls.

He said he was approached by the leadership of the organisation and asked to serve as a director. He agreed to do so without hesitation and over the years, used his civil engineering skills to do things like enhance the property.

“I got involved in the YMCA because of the work that it is doing in reaching young boys in particular, especially the outreach arm and other activities. Because it’s a service organisation, a charitable organisation, it gives us an opportunity to impact the lives of others, and especially our young men,” he adds.

Mr. Aiken points out that the YMCA runs a school that gives young male dropouts a second chance and an opportunity to get back in the school system. “They are there for about two or three years. They go back into the main school system and other activities of the “Y”,” he explains.

Mr. Aiken is also the Founding Chairman of the 44 year-old Galilee Basic School. Having attended Sunday School at Galilee Gospel Hall in East Kingston, Mr. Aiken has remained true to his roots and continues to teach Sunday School, a role he took up over 50 years ago while in sixth form in high school.

“It’s a part of my Christian service and I am motivated by my commitment to the Lord to make a difference in the lives of others, and that’s one way of doing it,” he says.

He and other members of the board saw an opportunity for the church to support the community through education.

“As one of the elders in the 1970s when an effort was being made for early childhood education, we decided to start a school at Galilee as part of our service to the community; and so I was instrumental in leading the team and we started the school in 1977.

He proudly declares that the school, which is fully recognised by the Early Childhood Commission, is still going strong, stymied only by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the outbreak, he says, there were approximately 150 students on the roll.

“We serve the community in particular through the basic school, and there are other youth activities in the church like a boys club, girls club and children’s meeting, All of these activities are geared towards reaching the young people in the community. Unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic has put a brake on some of these activities where we can’t have face to face meetings, but I think that’s how the church makes an impact, through its youth activities in particular,” Mr. Aiken says.

The school chairman explains that he spearheaded a multi-stakeholder community-based project with the Jamaica Social Investment Fund on behalf of the school. The Galilee Basic School started in a small building that was on the church premises, however, the church also acquired a premises next door which is where the school would eventually be situated.

A proposal was sent to JSIF requesting its assistance for the erection of a new building on the property and funding was accessed through the European Union for the undertaking. Mr. Aiken served as the engineer, designer and project manager. His contribution, he points out, represents the contribution of the community and he proudly declares that the project was completed on time and under budget.

The devout Christian and family man also has the distinction of being one of the founding directors of Family Life Ministries (FLM) and is the immediate past chairman. He explains that in the early 1980s, he was part of a group of young married Christian couples who were concerned about their own family lives and health.

A meeting convened to share with and minister to each other about the importance of various aspects of family life, and it morphed into the ministry that exists today.

“We recognised that there was a great need, not only among ourselves but in the society at large, and so we decided to formalise our gathering for family life ministries and it blossomed,” he says.

Mr. Aiken says that the ministry has widened from counselling to radio programmes and highlighted a new initiative entitled For the Child, a joint venture with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA).

For the Child is a programme that provides training for foster parents and facilitates placement of children in private foster care.

The FLM Director explains that the programme began about two years ago in the midst of the pandemic, which affected what it was intended to achieve; but the team continues to work to meet the needs of children.

Family Life Ministries is a non-denominational, Bible-based organisation with the purpose of developing and providing a range of ministries related to all aspects of family life. The entity’s objective is to improve and develop family relationships, serve the church by offering systematic instruction and training in matters relating to family life, and assist individual churches to develop and improve their family life programmes with an emphasis on the preventative.

Mr. Aiken as a Civil Engineer has served the Master Builders Association for many years.

He is also a board member of the Errol Rattray Evangelical Association. He has been married for 51 years and credits his ability to get involved in so many aspects of service to his wife’s support. They have three adult children whom he says have also developed hearts for service.