PROJECT CHANGE PART 2

Kenwin John and Natalia Thomas, 37 and 36 years respectively, labourer and housewife. At 737 St. Marys Village, Moruga Road, I live a stones throw away and never thought that my community had this level of poverty. This is one of the worst examples of poverty I have ever seen, my mind is forever stained. I asked Kenwin for permission to air his plight but never expected things to be this deplorable. Upon taking my first steps inside their home I was greeted by an old wooden door with bed sheets draping the inside to prevent unwanted viewing by those on the roadway... a dirty moldy sheet, the smell rose, the dark and gloomy interior hinted to go back but I continued. The floor creaked exposing the cracks that lent no question that you should walk as gently as possible.

I was greeted by filth, walls, broken pieces of furniture, old moldy food remains made reference to the ones sleeping on the roadside depending on thrown away food to survive. Debris scattered around, a rotten flour dough lay in a lone bowl, the scent reeked of health issues but this is not the story here. Kenwin and Natalia produced five children, three boys and 2 girls, ages ranging from 10 years to only 6 months. Kenwin is a labourer depending on odd jobs while collecting $800 a month for disability. He has heart problems and suffers when the environment changes to increased heat and the coldness of night.

Natalia suffers from nerves and is bi-polar, with issues coming and going from one extreme to another. She gets $1300 /mth from the government based on her children. They have no sufficient means to survive beyond these means, and depend on the neighbours handouts. As the rays of sunlight beam through the exposed roofing , and the apparent lack of lighting kick in the gloominess continues to expose itself like a camera with long exposure waiting to uncover all the details. This house was given to them by Kenwins father and I was informed that social workers visit regularly but still is this even safe?

Now by all means we can see here that the parents can do better by trying to clean this place up that is without question, but we have the lives of children here at stake. The children was taken by Natalias mother to be in charge of and to be sent to school unfortunately, she has not been available to reach and since then the boy has not been to school. Usually this would be a scene taken from another country but here we have this level of living stifling the minds of the upcoming youths, leading them to look for jobs where they would usually be taken advantage of and with no education to rely on, their life isn't going to change overnight. In defense the parents complain about lack of jobs that they are willing to take up, and low benefits for such a large family. So anyone with links to people in authority please forward, much appreciated.