00:00 Some of you sitting here, and there's so much potential.
00:03 The life that Ronald Anthony Soyefat is said to have lived
00:07 drew a crowd that came to say a final farewell to him at the end of his journey.
00:12 The race that he ran is being equated to a life well lived by his daughter Ronda Soyefat,
00:17 who told mourners that her father, who was born on November 23, 1952,
00:22 had blossomed into a boy who was adored by his siblings for his traits,
00:27 including a great sense of humor and pranks he would play on people.
00:31 According to his daughter, Soyefat was also very talented with his hands
00:36 and had built a radio as well as a car engine when he was young.
00:41 He lost his mother early in life and had to be raised by his father and his stepmother.
00:46 That experience influenced him to acquire culinary skills,
00:50 which he grew fond of and continued throughout his life.
00:54 Soyefat charted a course that led him to becoming a health executive in this country
01:00 with a wealth of experience and education, including a master's degree in public health.
01:06 He believed that everyone deserves to be in good health,
01:10 and so everyone is worthy of high quality health care.
01:15 He wanted to implement innovative ideas, solid systems,
01:20 and the latest medical treatments to improve the quality and longevity of the people of his beloved nation.
01:27 Soyefat's passion for people had ignited long before that,
01:31 as his daughter recalled how her father was active in the Black Power movement in his teenage years.
01:37 It was so ironic to see this Chinese-faced young man fighting for the rights of black people.
01:44 Dad even washed his hair with beer to try changing the texture so he could have a nice big fluffy afro.
01:52 So we see that his sense of equality and justice clearly started at a young age,
01:59 and we've seen those values manifested throughout his life and his career.
02:04 She told mourners that the time people are given on earth is short,
02:08 and encouraged them to seek to make an impact in the now, as she said her father did.
02:14 He operated with a deep sense of purpose, passion, and planning.
02:19 Until his very last days, he was working with all his might to fulfill his calling here on earth.
02:27 Among those paying tribute to the late chief executive officer of the Eastern Regional Health Authority were the Ministry of Health.
02:34 He contributed in small measure to the restructuring of the health sector in Trinidad and Tobago,
02:40 as a valued and respected member of the Health Sector Reform Programme Transformation Team.
02:46 Deputy Chairman of the ERHA, Sasha Dabu, who reached out to Soyefat,
02:51 having had a mum dying at the Sangre Grandi Hospital with stage 4 cancer, long before she had ever worked with him.
02:58 He had allowed her to enter the ward to see her mum and care for her outside of visiting hours.
03:04 My mother passed less than one month later, in November 2006, but Mrs. Soyefat gave me back time.
03:16 And Ronald Soyefat's son, Terence Soyefat.
03:20 Mr. Soyefat was very high, but he was one of the most loving persons and caring persons that ever, ever, ever lived.
03:32 Soyefat died on May 14th at the age of 71. His body was interred at Rudal Cemetery in San Fernando.
03:49 Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
03:52 Thanks.
03:53 [BLANK_AUDIO]
03:53 [BLANK_AUDIO]
Comments