Not every hero wears a cape

I've known Dudley Seide for about 20 years now.

I'm sure it's been that long because recently, he sent me a copy of the first story I wrote on his organization (Reach Out Ministries) and the date on it indicated that it was 20 years ago. In addition, Seide phoned me and with shock in his voice asked "I've known you for that long?"

Yeah, Seide and I have been friends for a while and in all that time, his focus has remained the same. Twenty years ago, when I wrote that first newspaper piece on Dudley Seide and Reach Out Ministries, the organization was already in full swing and Seide was a man whose face was like flint when it came to his mission. So resolute and unshaken about the real reason he started the ministry.

Not Seide. He's been going strong for over 20 years.

Like the Apostle John, Seide has been "in the wilderness" crying out and defending the poor and downtrodden in the Grand Bahamian community for a long, long time. It's one of those missions that can only be a calling. It's not something one decides to do on a whim or solely for financial gain. Such a pursuit based on wrong motives have been quickly abandoned.

Not Seide. He's been going strong for over 20 years.

Granted, the initial purpose of his organization changed somewhat over the years. When Reach Out was first started, the main idea was to reach boys and young men in hopes of putting them on the right path in life. This mission was a personal one for Seide, who himself was rescued from a road of destruction when he ran into the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.

Seide went from being a confused young man, who lived by the laws of the streets and the wrong intentions of a street gang, to one whose heart was changed, which in turn changed his actions, his life and his purpose. Seide knew that he had to try and help other young men who were caught in the same viscous cycle which once held him captive.

And for years, Reach Out Youth Organization reached out to the boys and young men of Grand Bahama, admonishing them that there was a better way to life than living by the rules of the knife and gun. And for years, the Organization has helped so many boys and young men. Many were rescued, changed their lives and some went on to make so much more of their lives than they could have ever imagined, by graduating high school, going off to college, or becoming positive, contributing business people within society.

That purpose for Reach Out still remains in tact, but times demanded that Seide adjust the focus of his mission.

With hard times hitting Grand Bahama's economy with a vengeance due to a series of catastrophic hurricanes, a world financial recession, Hurricane Dorian and now a pandemic, Seide could not just sit back and do nothing. It's not in his nature.

With what he had, Seide began to reach out to those who were in need because of a struggling economy. He opened up the small store house he had at the Reach Out Organization and invited those in need to come by and see what they could garner. His wife Katie, along with other family members, got up early every single morning to cook breakfast for those school children in Freeport who normally went to school hungry.

When the devastating winds of the worst hurricane to hit the Caribbean (Hurricane Dorian) had subsided, Seide opened up the headquarters of Reach Out, where again, Katie and others, cooked fresh meals everyday for anyone who wanted to stop by and get something to eat.

Since Dorian, Seide and Reach Out have gone throughout the entire island of Grand Bahama (East, West and Central) distributing bags of food items to residents, many of whom had lost their vehicles in the flood waters of the hurricane. Other times, he simply invited people to come to the headquarters to collect grocery items.

Even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Seide (who by the way, is paranoid about the idea of catching Covid) invited residents in need to a drive-through, where residents would pull up in their vehicles, pop the trunk and workers, wearing gloves and masks, would place a bag of groceries into the trunk and close it. The lines of cars wrapped around two blocks have become legendary.

Just a few Saturdays ago, Seide, working with Chances organization, distributed hundreds of grocery bags of food to residents in various communities throughout the island. The following Saturday he went back out to distribute to those communities that he missed the week before.

It's the kind of work that's not for the faint of heart. Often I've admitted to Dudley that I could not do what he's doing, simply because I lack the patience and organizational capacity. But Seide says he lives to do what he's doing. Although Dudley is a straight shooter, who does not mince words, although he's a stickler for time and would be upset if things start late, Dudley has a good heart.

What I admire about my friend Dudley Seide is that in all of this he benefits little financially, if at all. Seide works on a job that is by no means glamorous, but he knows he has to work to feed his family. He and Katie do not live lavish lifestyles, drive fancy cars or live in a big house. In fact, during Hurricane Dorian, their home was so severely damaged, that for a long time they lived at the Reach Out Headquarters, which, by the way, is not equipped for living and sleeping. But even in their uncomfortable living condition, they were not deterred from what it was they had to do to help those in need.

While I encourage people to financially support Reach Out Organization, I also do my part in contributing financially to the Ministry. It is one of those organizations where you know for sure your money will go towards helping the people who are in need.

There have been companies in Grand Bahama who have been supporting Reach Out for years and for these people Seide is thankful. While I join others and do what I can to support my friend, I also pray for Dudley and his family. I know it's not an easy task trying to help people, especially when some of those people can be difficult and crafty.

But Seide has done it for all these years.

And he's not the kind to get high off of his own achievements or become conceited on his organization's accomplishments. I've often told Seide that he's not aware of how much he's done for and within the community, at least since I met him. He's too busy going from one project to the next, trying his best to meet one need after another. Seide does not consider himself a hero or anyone special, although me and others think that he is. I think that if Seide takes the time to stop and think about all that he has been a part of in helping others after all these years, even he would be surprised at how much have been done.

Now, as "the silly season" gets into full bloom, many (if not all) of the political parties have been searching out Seide in an effort to get him to run for their respective parties. And Seide has turned down all of them. I'm not surprised. He's not interested in politics.

To put an end to all of the hounding by the political parties, Seide went on the television news and straight up informed all of the parties, that he has no interest in politics, no interest in being a candidate and no interest in being a politicians. I like what he meant when he said he has "a higher calling". I'm sure there was no pun intended when he said it, but I couldn't help but smile at the analogy.

I wonder when our country will come to grips with the fact that not everyone who is out there helping others and carrying out community work is interested in politics. Yes, I know some of them are, but not all of them. And Dudley Seide is one who's not. He just wants to simply carry out the work which he feels God has called him to do.

And for that, I consider the guy a super hero.