western bureau:

Life's hard-fought journey to success, for 33-year-old Robert Coates, was built on gritty determination and humble beginnings, during a time when having no shoes to go to school was not an excuse for not having ambition.

The second child of eight, Coates said his parents had insurmountable financial challenges.

"I remembered at about age 11, while I attended Farm All-Age (now Farm Primary and Junior High), I began selling bag juice on Fridays to make extra money to go to school during the week, so I would have to miss school on Fridays," Coates told THE STAR.

While his father worked as a gardener and his mother, as a domestic worker, the c****ined household income was not sufficient to meet all the needs of the children. Coates remembers having to go to school barefoot at times, because there was just not enough money to buy shoes.

Despite these obstacles during his youth, he said the adversity strengthened the family bonds.

Coates credits those circumstances for propelling him to complete his examinations at the grade nine level and earn a place at Cornwall College. But disappointment came when his parents were not able to afford tuition costs.

Back to school

Determined to shape his destiny, Coates began working in the hospitality industry at age 17. It was then that he was able to save enough money to go back to school to obtain his CXCs and other certification for the hospitality sector. He recently completed his studies in travel organisation at Colbourne College.

Entrepreneur

Although he expresses a deep love for the hospitality industry, Coates prides himself on being an entrepreneur who played an integral role in establishing businesses such as a hardware store in Rose Heights (where he still lives), a restaurant and a shoe and clothing store.

Nowadays, Coates is busy with pastoral duties at Visionaries Apostolic Church and his full-time job as a guest-services coordinator at Tryall Golf and Country Club.

Being a husband and father of two, with one more on the way, also keeps him on his feet.

He implores persons in inner-city communities not to allow their circumstances to paralyse their futures.

"It is possible to elevate yourself from your circumstances and come out on top. I have never done anything illegal in life to achieve what I have achieved, so persons don't have to live by the gun or knife; they can change for the better," he insisted.

Coates further pointed that his parents' Christian background was also an important driving force.

(This is a repeat of an article previously carried in The Gleaner's Ghetto Gem series.)