DR FAITH BYISRAEL may not have set out to become a politician but she has embraced the role wholeheartedly.

“I enjoy it 98 per cent of the time. But some days, I am at two per cent because there are just some days that are unnecessarily difficult,” she told WMN.

“I always say if I win the lottery I would still do this. It will probably mean I would do this a little better because I would not have to worry about my own bills. But I would still do exactly this because I think this is where I am called to be at this point.”

A qualified public health practitioner, BYisrael holds several positions within Tobago’s political landscape.

Apart from being the Tobago House of Assembly’s (THA’s) Deputy Chief Secretary and Secretary for Health, Wellness and Social Protection, she is also the electoral representative for Belle Garden/Glamorgan and a member of the fledgling Tobago People’s Party (TPP).

She admits, though, that politics and all it entails – speaking engagements, frequent interactions with residents and working odd hours – took some getting used to.

“I am an introvert. It’s kind of hard for people to believe that as much as I talk, but I am an introvert. You have to know me. My very small circle knows me. My very small circle also knows that there are moments where you literally just have to leave her alone and let her be.”

An ideal moment for BYisrael involves being in her own space on a couch, eating, sleeping and watching TV.

“That is a perfect Saturday for me, with no interaction. And then I can replenish to go back out.”

Saying she’s always been a loner, BYisrael laughed as she recalled her experiences when she first contested the THA election in 2017 on a Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) ticket.

“The biggest campaign against me was that Faith doh talk to people in the village. That was the mantra, ‘How yuh go vote for Faith?' And it is because I really am an introvert. I was raised as my mother’s only child – home all the time in my own space, in my own room. That’s just me. So that might be the most difficult part of doing this job, when I have to be out there.”

Having won the Belle Garden/Glamorgan district in the December 2021 THA election after a narrow defeat in the 2017 election, BYisrael believes she is performing creditably as a representative.

She said her biggest challenge continues to be the infrastructural needs of the area.

“A lot of people need assistance with drainage and walls. Those things are harder to provide when you consider the budget for the infrastructure division and all of the other big things that we have to do. If you ask any other assemblyman they would say exactly the same thing.”

While there will always be those who feel that their representatives can do more, BYisrael believes she has done a good job internalising the needs of the district and communicating with the residents.

Her field and office staff, she said, are her eyes and ears on the ground.

“They are the ones sending the messages. If there is a situation where a resident needs to