Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them.

Start with what they know. Build with what they have.

But with the best leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say: “We have done this ourselves.”— Lao Tzu

Over the past week, I have attempted to put together a tribute to someone who has recently passed.

As the initial words were being typed, news was received of yet another person passing.

The knock-on effect, was having to put down the “proverbial pen” to reflect on the life and lessons of, yet another, beacon of our community.

Today, let us look back on the lives and legacies, of some of our dearly departed.

Brother Malcolm Nisbett was a born and bred “Pond Dog” from Curving Avenue.

The majority of his working life he spent as a skilled tradesman at Bermuda Electric Light Company in the powerhouse of the generation department.

This same powerhouse, has seen hundreds of men come and go over the last 100-plus years.

Yet, every so often, along comes someone who becomes a beacon of hope and solace for those who labour in temperatures that often exceed 100 degrees.

Brother Malcolm was that person.

He had a calming spirit about him, that became a magnet to all who worked around him.

Never a day went by that he would not drive his forklift to visit the numerous job sites and control rooms with a smile, hug, handshake or word of advice and encouragement.

He mentored many young Belco workers in the fine art of financial management and how to go about purchasing properties.

Today, many families own their own piece of the rock because of his guidance.

Even after retirement from Belco, approximately ten years ago, he remained active, working for a local wholesaler, driving a taxi and doing missionary work with his wife and Adventist church family.

Such was his impact on his fellow man, that more than 30 former Belco staff attended his home-going service, with ten or so dressed in Belco shirts serving as pallbearers.

Indeed, he embodied the leadership message of not just doing for self but bringing the people along with you.

The second person that needs honouring is former educator and reading specialist Darnell Wynn née Todd.

Every young man at Berkeley, in the year 1981, can clearly remember the day Ms Todd, as she was named then, stepped into those hallowed halls.

Initially, we were under the impression that she would be a teacher that we could skate past academically and socially.

Oh no, not Ms Darnell Todd.

By the second month of her presence, she had dispensed copious amounts of red ink in our English language notebooks.

Those who wanted to test her resolve to insist on discipline at all levels, found themselves joining the frequent flyer programme on Robert Horton Airways, destination: detention.

Through the fog of it all, Ms Wynn was slowly and surely grooming multiple generations of young Bermudians to be proficient in the skill sets of reading, comprehending and communicating with the world.

In her later years, she transferred this same keen sense of accountability to the Bermuda Government Human Resources department.

Additionally, openly and not so openly, pulling aside any number of her former, or was it for ever, students she simply expanded her classroom reach out to the far corners of social media.

Over the past two years, she constantly implored upon those in the political realms to see beyond their own ideologies and to “Do what the people elected you to do!”

As news of her passing became public, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of those who were blessed to call themselves her students, paying tribute to the woman who had a burning desire for Bermudian excellence.

She too, embraced the role as a leader bringing their people on the path to self-empowerment.

Lastly, I am not sure that there is anything that I can write about Walton Brown Jr JP MP that has not been said, since his untimely passing.

What I will and must say, is this: he had a long-term vision and plan for comprehensive bipartisan immigration reform.

Borne out of the historic protest of 2016, two key committees were formed to find out the challenges in immigration and the measured solutions to address these contentious issues.

Between December of 2017 and November 2018, Walton Brown helped to mould the foundations of proactive immigration reform.

He did this by choosing two persons from each of the political parties, to work together in a non-confrontational manner.

Deputy Opposition leader Leah Scott, MPs Renée Ming, Ben Smith and myself, have worked diligently under the sage-like guidance of Walton Brown Jr.

His long-term vision of immigration being addressed in a clinical and critical thought process, came to life, in a manner which both informs the people and reflects their will, versus the will of the few.

There are many, far too many, who believe that leadership only comes through having a fancy title or how many letters trail behind their surnames.

The three people I have talked about, and many others, who have passed, never needed any worldly titles to groom thousands of young Bermudians in how to prepare a better future for themselves and subsequent generations.

As we adjust to the lack of their physical presence, we can enjoy the harvest of the work that they once planted.

We too, must now seek to start with what we know and build with what we have.

May God bless them and their families in this time of transition.

• Christopher Famous is the government MP for Devonshire East (Constituency 11). You can reach him at WhatsApp on 599-0901 or e-mail at cfamous@plp.bm