Mrs. Alixann Narcisse Campbell is the founder of the Naz Children’s Centre

|Shanneka Brown/Montego Bay Campus

Mrs. Alixann Narcisse Campbell is the founder of the Naz Children’s Centre. She is a Jamaican woman who is originally from St. Catherine. She spent most of her early years in Jamaica and went abroad where she completed secondary school.

Mrs. Campbell opened the children’s center on January 5, 2005 which was relocated on January 28, 2014, as such, the business is still in existence. The center caters to children from pre-school to high school students. It consists of average and above average students. The school also caters to those with special needs for example, Down Syndrome, Autism and ADHD just to name a few.

Mrs. Campbell started off as an early childhood teacher. Upon teaching grade 2 students for four years she realized that she wanted to venture into special needs education. She saw that some children were often left behind throughout her years of teaching. She also made mention that a friend of hers made complaints of wanting an after school program within St. James: where children could stay while their parents were at work. Mrs. Campbell decided to take matters into her hands by creating an after school program. She also made mention that the business actually started inside the store room of a hotel.

In addition, she said her greatest fear was merely to pay her rent, she feared owing funds. She also made note that she is more fearless now than she was before. Her greatest desire was bringing peace to families as it relates to catering to children.

She learnt that she could not do it on her own. She made mention that collaborating with others was a necessity. She also learnt that others took credit for her hard work as a result that their institutions or brands were superior to hers. This did not discourage her as she said that it was God’s way of telling her that she is his servant. She also stated that founding and running an enterprise meant that she had to get the attention of major companies. Also, she said that obtaining a land from the National Land Agency was not very easy but she persevered nonetheless. Ultimately, she said that the biggest lesson she has learnt is to have gratitude throughout her journey.

Mrs. Campbell stated that the ultimate reason as to why the venture succeeded was God himself. She said that the lord preserved her sanity as she lost friends while she relocated the business, persons were resigning because they feared change. She too believed that she could have prayed a lot more and cried less.

She believed that building relationships with potential customers and investors was critical to the growth of the school. She believed that there may come a time where she needs help from others, as such she understands that building relationships is quite crucial. She stated that 2 effective relationship building skills are to listen more than you speak and to put yourself in the person’s shoes.

Mrs. Campbell is indeed a God fearing woman. She believes that nothing happens without God. She leaves everything with God and that God puts the final stamp on each and everything in her life and that he had already created her accomplishments.

Enterprise’s impact on the community or society- She made it clear that she does not like the term inclusion because children with special needs are indeed normal children. She said that this enterprise helps the community to understand that special needs children are children that requires the same treatment as any other child and that they too have rights.

Upon completing this interview I found that having a passion for what you do throughout the helping profession is key. Loving what you do will set the pace for the enterprise to venture. While interviewing Mrs. Campbell, I saw that her passion was her ultimate drive and that loving what you do means that you will be persistent in making your business a success. Also, operating an enterprise in the helping profession requires respect and an understanding of people. The business will not be successful if you are not a helper nor a people person. Operating the business for merely making a profit will not reap much benefits. Also, taking risks is a major criteria in starting a business. When trials are faced, the entrepreneur must remain determined in pursuing an alternative. This can be applied in the helping profession as it aims at discouraging failure when problems present itself throughout the business.