A Dream of Becoming the Most Ambitious Girl in My Community

A Dream of Becoming the Most Ambitious Girl in My Community is about the life of Erma Ruth Nelson, a Christian Black woman who, in the late 1940s, grew up in Saint Thomas, Jamaica. From age seven, this intelligent little girl was the only one among eight of her peers who was chosen to participate in child labor by teaching the daughter of a local doctor how to read. She did this for money to help her widowed mother take care of her and her remaining siblings who still lived at the house.

This pattern of work continued until she was sent by her mother to live with her older sister in Kingston, Jamaica, where things got worse during her high school years. Her older sister had expected multiple unreasonable things from her, including caring for her two daughters and more child labor, while balancing school and maintaining good grades. These unfavorable conditions forced her to return home to her mother, at which point she was immediately sent to the School of Home Economics--a school famous for producing housewives.

This school taught her many important life skills such as cooking, dining room service, cleaning, and how to manage a home. Being at the top of her class, she was chosen to represent the school by serving at the governor general Sir Clifford Campbell's home.

After feeling like she finally had a hold on her life, she was met with a multitude of new challenges after moving to Canada in hopes of a better education. Upon her arrival in Canada, she was given a horrendous place to live where her room, in the basement, would often be flooded with water after it rained.

Due to these below-average conditions, she sought the help of a police officer to move her from a mere basement to a better place. Even though her living conditions drastically improved, she still faced current issues including racism and sexism. This, however, did not diminish her quest for higher learning. She then applied to the Canadian Dietetic Association, which was a school where Erma found her passion in food and nutrition.