Anyone can make a difference; Shivam Teelucksingh wins the Angostura Championships

BY LA SHAWNA GRIFFITH

Shivam Teelucksingh is a twenty-seven-year-old freelance computer repair technician who resides in Trinidad and Tobago, and who strongly believes one person can make a difference in the world.

Teelucksingh is the recipient of the Angostura Championship because of his innovative idea to conduct free device repairs throughout Trinidad and Tobago. To date he has repaired a total of 420 devices and has saved parents in Trinidad $121,0000 Trinidad dollars.

So determined was the 2020 Angostura Champion, to ensure children in Trinidad who are underprivileged have the means to attend online classes, he sold his vehicle and invested the money he earned to purchase additional resources to be able to repair even more devices.

In an interview he said that the decision to help students in his community be able to attend virtual school, came after he lost the majority of his business due to COVID-19.

“Due to COVID-19, I was forced to close my business unfortunately. What eventually took place was that people in my community wanted device repairs. I started to offer it at a minimal fee at first, but then one day I had a parent that could not really afford it. I started to see how people were losing their jobs, and, as I was always prone to doing charity work. I decided to offer free repairs at that time.”

Teelucksingh, who is seeking to own his own business Teelucksingh’s Consultancy Services said he made a Facebook post talking about his free repair services. It quickly snowballed into many people contacting him to have their children’s devices repaired.

“It became demanding as people were coming by my house every day just to get the help. It started off as software repairs, and I saw that people were in need, so I started to donate my money and my time. Eventually, it grew to a point where I would go around different areas in Trinidad and fix two devices a family. We keep track of everything with invoices, so we know how much it would have cost.”

The Angostura Champion Finalist 2020 said that in doing the repairs in, and around Trinidad, it allowed students to be able to attend online classes. Some of these children otherwise would have fallen through the cracks in the educational system.

“While I was doing this, there were online classes going on. So, a lot of these students finally got to go back to school and do their homework and get an education at the end of the day, despite having COVID issues,” he said.

Teelucksingh said that he believes God had a bigger plan for his life as he was able to assist hundreds of students without any major help from sponsors or the Government.

“I believe that God had a bigger plan for my life because I did this without thinking. I wouldn’t get anything in return at the end of the day, and I will continue to do it. We still have a lot of kids to help out. Out of the 57 companies that I send sponsorship letters to, only one company helped us with free transportation and I thank them for that.”

Reflecting on the award he said his project was highlighted in local newspapers as well as trending on social media. This is how the organizers of the Angostura Championships realized the stellar work he was doing in the community. Thus, he became one of five finalists that would receive a cash injection into their business.

Despite this, Teelucksingh said that the real award came from the children who would contact him and thank him for being able to attend school.

“I see and hear these kids who call, or message saying they could go to online classes. Parents are appreciative because their kids can sign into the google classroom,” he said.

The Angostura Champion 2020 would like people in Canada to know that they can also sponsor a tablet for a child in their communities. It only takes one person to make a difference.

“I would like to reach out to people in Canada and allow them to see that anyone can make a difference at the end of the day. I urge whoever reads this to donate a tablet to a family in the Caribbean. Every bit helps.”