Jamaica Red Cross' branch manager, Joan McDonald (left), listens as 104-year-old Mable Dakers reminisces during yesterday's meal delivery, made daily under the agency's Meals on Wheels Programme. - Carlington Wilmot By Trudy Simpson,
Staff Reporter
FOR YEARS, 74-year-old Victor Brown lived in a one bedroom shack, barely held together by pieces of rusted zinc.
But all changed last August when the Jamaica Red Cross, in collaboration with Atlanta-based Lutherians and residents of the community, gave his home, located on Prince Albert Street in Allman Town, Kingston, a much needed face lift. "It was unsuitable. It wasn't fit to live in," he remembered, looking at his new home, painted blue by volunteers, who had had to knock it down and rebuild the old structure from scratch, this time using wood.
In addition, the Red Cross, a non-governmental aid agency and the Lutherians also knocked down the mangled rusted zinc which served as the communal bathroom for Mr. Brown and his neighbours, who share the same property. It now boasts two toilets and a communal bath, much to the relief of the residents, who are among scores of people in Allman Town and surrounding areas, who have benefited from programmes run by the Red Cross
From the shut-in elderly and the destitute to the unemployed or school drop-outs, the work carried out by Red Cross signals a new beginning.
"The bathroom and toilet make everything look good in here cause dem tek down the old zinc weh did deh de," said Lucille Tyrell, who oversees the area. "Dem do the programme good. When is like back-to-school time, mi neighbour get like book, text book and dem things deh. Is a good thing."
For many of the elderly especially, the agency often represents the last bastion of hope against loneliness and gnawing pangs of hunger. Through its Meals on Wheels programme, the Red Cross provides daily sustenance to some 20 elderly citizens in Allman Town and a little companionship for the short time that they visit each day.
Weathered faces bore smiles as The Gleaner accompanied the Red Cross team on its drive to deliver food in Allman Town and surrounding communities yesterday. As The Gleaner watched, more than food was exchanged as the elderly and others whispered confidences, shared jokes and remembered history while the food changed hands.
"Ah don't like this lady. Ah love this lady! She help me all the while. Food, clothes, sometimes I don't have ah shoes and she tek me to the doctor," said 87-year-old Glinton Walker, smiling at Joan McDonald, the Red Cross' Branch Director.
Medical care is provided by the service clubs and volunteer doctors on designated clinic days, Ms. McDonald explained.
"God bless this lady," breathed 87-year-old Kenneth Wells, giving a smile which lit up the small house in which he lived, on the bank of a nearby gully. "She look after us. In the morning she come and she feed you. I don't think you have another woman in Jamaica fit the job," he paused to look at the reporter. "She would come and she will take you hand and talk to you, make you feel good. You know, some people, although they give, they make you feel embarrass. Not she," he told The Gleaner.
Ms. McDonald pointed out that Disaster Management is also an important aspect of the Jamaica Red Cross' interaction with people in Allman Town because houses are closely built and one spark could ruin an entire neighbourhood. In addition, food is cooked outside sometimes and children face the risk of being burnt, but one major reason is that many houses are built on the sides of a sloping hill, which leads to a gully, manned by a rickety bridge and no retaining wall.
The Red Cross also helps younger people become employed and provides schooling for a number of youngsters in topics ranging from literacy, numeracy and grooming to facts about sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, remedial reading and skills training "all of which helps to build self-esteem. I want to give them back dignity," said Ms. McDonald. "We found that Allman Town is salvageable. It might have gone bad but things will get better because of the spirit of the people. We have to respect people's dignity. When we come with our ideas about how we can help them, it is not without their strong input," she said.
