00:00Say in 2024, which was last year, when there was a ridiculously amount of crime in Tobago,
00:07we would have, I would say, 95% of those persons would have come to us,
00:12one, because they know we have the ability to meet their loved one in the midst of all that grief,
00:17because someone being murdered is a lot different from dying of natural causes.
00:21So in the midst of all that grief, persons come to us to give them that final peace of mind
00:27that their loved one would be looking of a certain standard.
00:32But why would two women want to get into the funeral home business?
00:36Started in 2023, manager of Divine Solace Funeral Home, Diane Deveens-Emtage,
00:43told TV6 News the reality today came as a vision.
00:48One day I was lying on my bed and it was like a vision.
00:51It was something that was ordained for us because I was lying on my bed
00:54and something that spoke to me. I wasn't dreaming, I wasn't sleeping.
00:57Going to our funeral home. And that is where the idea came from.
01:02The vision has now turned into a business and passion.
01:06The team at times helps families financially in some cases.
01:10I've cried in front of families many times in this office.
01:15I mean, I deal with it by knowing that at the end of it all,
01:19I am really going to do my best, whether it be to help that family financially,
01:24because we know not everyone is in a financial position.
01:27Sometimes we refer persons to a grief counsellor and we pay for it.
01:33In other instances, especially in the cases where persons would have lost their mom or dad,
01:38we would assist them when time comes to go back to school, give vouchers, hampers, all these things.
01:44So that helps me to manage the grief because I know at the end of this, we would be looking out for them.
01:52And with this passion, it has now become a family affair.
01:56I think what makes it easier, Liz, is the fact that we are a family-operated business.
02:02So aside from my mom and I, we have other family members who help the process
02:06and who make the process a lot easier.
02:09And I must say, being the face of the business, being the funeral director
02:12and the person that families interact with,
02:14just being able to help that person out of that difficult time.
02:18As a woman, yes, persons relate easier to me.
02:22Kids relate easier to me.
02:23So it fulfills my heart to know that I am making a change, as small as it may be.
02:29Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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