Sunday Night Musings - Jamaican style

Sunday, October 26
Joan, and her daughter Teka. Teka has five children. Her cousin has a few more. Her other cousin, a few more, including a two month old named VJ. Twelve children, one house. Teka’s brother was killed when he fell from the bucket of a utility truck a couple years ago. Teka’s uncle has had two recent strokes. Teka is the only real income amongst a family of 18 in that house.
She works in a supermarket, in the bakery. There is no water cistern at the house, except two large rain barrels. There is no fresh water cistern. When the nearby spring goes dry, or the pipe of municipal water breaks, theer might not be any water for some time. They didn’t know what they would eat that night. This is Teka’s “blank week”. She gets paid every two weeks with a salary that only lasts one week. Two times a month, there is no food. Teka gets four days off this week, because Friday she collapsed at work and had to be taken to the emergency room. Low blood pressure. They wrote her a prescription for medicine. She must get it in Montego Bay. Getting there takes money. How will you pay for it? Well, I don’t know, she says.
The baby daddy doesn’t come around. He doesn’t pay for any support of the kids. Is that a good thing or a bad thing, that he doesn’t come around? Mostly a good thing, because when he comes around, he demands sex in return for anything he might give. We don’t know for sure, but it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that Teka wasn’t really wanting 5 children.
Paul, our driver, says he only has 1 boy – a teenager. He says he wanted only 1 so that he could raise them right – so he would be able to afford them. Paul is a rare soul.
I was bothered this morning by our morning meal. There was more food on our table than Teka and Little had in their possession to feed 18 children and 8 adults. I think that sums up the need pretty well.
When you start talking about needs, two subjects quickly emerge. 1) The enormity of the needs, and 2) the limitations in addressing it. A third subject, which may be a subset of limitations, is the issue of socio-economic relativity. How much is enough? Is it ‘enough’ assistance to restore a house to having no leaks? Or is it enough to build a home to North Raleigh standards, or even Mrs. Moore’s standards? These are issues we will need to wrestle with.
Where do we focus our assistance? Here is a common sense hierarchy based upon my observations:
Water – for drinking, bathing, and washing
Food – calories, nutrition, preparation
Clothing – adequate amount, replacement, washing
Shelter – security, elemental protection, social space, cooking space, resting space
Family – Safety, boundaries, sharing, encouragement
Health Care – Medicine, Dr., Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention
Education – enough said
Income – skills, money, time away from working
Spiritual – church, prayer, learning
Community – support, encouragement, greater resources, laws, protection, sharing
Government – infrastructure (schools, roads), justice, provision

Some High Schools have agriculture teachers who operate farms and gardens as teaching tools.
Mrs. Moore bought 30 eggs for $40 Jamaican, but eggs are not a typical part of the Jamaican diet – they are high in cholesterol and ‘you’ve got to watch the color’. Even so, 30 eggs cost about 60 cents US.
Mr. Hugh Johnson, a member of the church in Hopewell, is a choir man, a Men’s ministry leader – he’s a welder, and he has grown boys. They get together on holidays once a year at a reunion. He used to work at the bauxite mine as an aluminum welder. Now he does ironwork and repairs. Arc and oxycetalene welding. He says a skilled tradesman makes roughly 10K Jamaican per month. Unskilled, maybe 4-5000. Minimum wage is 3000 per month. Hospitality/reception industry – 6000, cleaning – 4000.
Reverend Joseph, the deacon, works primarily in Lethe. She lives at the Bethel parsonage. She worked regularly at the home in Copse – West Haven.
Mrs. Moore knows the tax administrator – he is a circuit steward and goes to Bethel.

She showed Celeste the garden today. She also arranged for the youth to come and speak to us. They want us to make a tape and send it to them of our youth.

She spoke at length with us, talking and laughing. Her husband likes the house, she loves the neighborhood, but would like a smaller place. This is too much to take care of.
Joyce has a friend who told us Joyce is struggling. The husband doesn’t help much. Joyce works hard for little pay.

Mrs. Moore told us that Nicholas came from very poor situation, has a learning disability, struggles in school.

At church this morning, Rev. Joseph preached about how the church must change to create welcoming environment for the youth, or we will lose a generation. She also said anyone over 70 is on borrowed time – don’t waste it. When we see the destruction, lay it at the feet of the almighty. She asked individuals to quote their favorite Psalms, into a microphone. I did the Youth sermon. I talked about being afraid of the Shark I saw in the ocean last year, I asked them what they are afraid of – insects, snakes, and lizards. I told them about the gunshot last year that we heard during church. I used Psalm 27:1-4, the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?

We bought groceries for Mrs. Irving and Teka’s family. Hopefully we can get more “Tings” tomorrow.

Tonight we gathered on the roof for a cool breeze and plenty of stars. What a blessing.