“What do I do?” Dara Tayo laughs incredulously at the scope of the question. “It would be easier for me to tell you what I DON’T do! I do everything under the sun.”
Tayo is the newly appointed Operations Manager of the all-male T&T Police Service Social and Welfare Association. The unit functions as a bargaining body for the nation’s police officers, and she answers primarily to Association President, Sergeant Anand Ramesar and Secretary, Sergeant Michael Seales.
The 17-year veteran began in the Association as a relief worker, doing the typing and filing. A self-made woman, she qualified herself for each position she set her eyes on, climbing the ladder rung by rung. After functioning as an accounts clerk for a while, she took over the accounts department. With the arrival of the newly elected Executive in 2010, she was promoted to floor supervisor. Soon thereafter, the position of Operations Manager was created, and she was the only person able to fill it. Apart from keeping the wheels of the Association well oiled, managing a dozen or so civilian staff members and monitoring the finances, her duties also involve overseeing the management of the two service stations owned and run by the Association. One is located along the Beetham highway, and the other is at Eastern Main Road, Laventille. At both of those gas stations, there had BETTER be gas. “Mr. Ramesar could pull in at either of those stations, and if there is no diesel, the first thing he does is call me. I’m the oil that keeps the engine running.”
When prodded about her working hours, the mother of three laughs again. “Legally? Eight to four. But as a woman, it’s challenging. I start my day at 3:00 a.m. I cook, wash, and leave home at 5:30 to be at work by 6:30.” Getting there early doesn’t mean she has any free time. Her phone is always ringing. But Tayo is no martyr. “You can’t do everything; sometimes, you have to delegate.” Even so, the buck stops with her. “They don’t want to hear that something didn’t get done, because “somebody” didn’t do it. They’re going to call me.” One boss has even offered her roller skates to get around faster. Tayo's workload hasn’t diminished her effectiveness as a mother: her daughter is set to get married soon, and her teenage son, a QRC student, represented T&T in Florida recently at a dragon boat race. Her 8-year-old son is an A student. The St George’s College past pupil proudly describes her determined struggle to educate herself after completing her O’ Levels, taking course after course, and relying on her innate abilities. “St. George’s taught me to be true to myself. I never did A’ levels, and didn’t go to university. Everything else was pure common sense.”
She grew up in some tough neighborhoods, but was well respected even as a girl. “I was born in Chinapoo Village, Morvant and grew up in Second Caledonia. But even though I grew up there, I was never a part of the stigma attached to it.” She went on to describe how even her elders called her “Miss Dara,” as everyone knew she was destined to find her way in the world. Even the denizens of the underworld recognised her for what she was. “One time, they held up my daughter, and when they realised she was mine, they just let her go.” She adds, musingly, “So you can be FROM there, but not be a product OF there.” Tayo’s secret dream…well, not so secret anymore, is to start an events management company, building on the experience she has gained planning everything from meetings to awards functions for the Association. She’s begun taking courses in the field, and has applied to the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business to do an advanced course. “So with my busy schedule,” she says, her voice heavy with irony, “I’m going back to school.”
Her advice to ambitious young women is to get over their sense of entitlement and work for what they need. “I got pregnant at 19, but I bounced back from that. I took my daughter to my classes and gave her a colouring book and some snacks. I made something of myself. But young people nowadays, they want to have everything, but don’t want to work for it. They think you owe them everything.” One thing’s for sure; she won’t stand for any of that on her watch. In spite of all the pressures, in local parlance, Tayo is ‘not stressing’. “God has always been the rock in my life. He taught me how to overcome, how to persevere. My mother always says I should also thank God for the "unanswered prayers". I think she’s right.”
