Abandoned poor find a refuge

(Staff writer Pat Pasternak recently traveled to Jamaica on a fact-finding tour paid for by Food for the Poor, Inc., a Florida-based charity that often advertises in The Evangelist. Throughout Lent, she will share what she saw while visiting programs that serve the needy. For information about FFP, visit www.foodforthepoor.org.)

Esmie, Michael and Mrs. Williams were among the throw-aways of Jamaican society. Physically and mentally handicapped, they now live at the Golden Age Home in Kingston, a quiet, gated community owned and operated by the government.

"We call them 'children,' because that is their level of intelligence," says Una Jamison-Gray, nursing supervisor for the complex. "It is a safe place for them to live, their 'home away from home.'"

In collaboration with Food for the Poor, the Jamaican government built the Golden Age Home in 1985 after a devastating fire at a government facility for senile adults. The blaze killed 135 residents.

Clustered

There are eight sections of housing units in the home. Called clusters, each one is a single story, motel-like structure made of concrete but painted in a bright color.

Cluster G, which houses the most severely handicapped among the 360 residents, encloses a courtyard for the residents, allowing them to enjoy a garden-like setting. A veranda in front provides shade from the sun.

"Each of the clusters is sponsored by local charitable organizations that partner with the government to care for the residents," Ms. Jamison-Gray explains to visiting journalists.

Food for the Poor sponsors three clusters, supplying food, clothing and medical equipment to help care for the residents.

'Last resort'

Forty-one people live in Cluster G. Sixteen are visually impaired; some, completely blind. Others suffer from debilitating mental and physical handicaps, including senility and terminal illnesses.

"This facility is their last resort for a quality life," notes Sondra Bocci, captain of the healthcare team.

She adds that when they die, most of the residents have a pauper's funeral because they have no family or have been abandoned, with some "left on the streets of Kingston to die."

"Many of our residents cannot talk," she continues, "so they rely on the sense of touch for communication. They love to be in physical contact with people."

Residents in touch

Esmie, a severely retarded woman who is crippled by osteomyelitis, crawls towards the journalists. One of them reaches down to touch her head. The smiling woman lifts her arm and tries to put it into the journalist's hand, but it falls limply to the ground.

"Good morning," the caregiver calls out to her. Esmie smiles broadly and tries to respond, but all that comes out is a grunt.

Inside one of the rooms, Mrs. Williams stands, leaning heavily on a walker. She is 79 and was found on the streets of Kingston.

"It is good to see you!" she says as the journalists enter. "I am thanking the Lord that He has given us such a lovely day. You are welcome here -- and thank you for coming."

Needs are many

"Caring for our 'children' is a significant challenge right now because we are severely understaffed," says Ms. Bocci. "But we work hard to meet their needs, of which there are many."

During the day, two nurses work. Each nurse's patient load is 20, "far too many for one worker," she notes. "But, then, both our evening and night shifts have only one nurse each. Our workers really are the cream of the crop. It takes a very special person to work with our residents. Our nurses are quite dedicated to giving these people all the care that they need.

"Before we begin each shift, we pray that God will give us what we require to meet the needs of each person. For us, it is a matter of making a difference in their daily lives."

Welcome

A young resident named Michael suffers from the same disease as Esmie. To greet the journalists, he slowly crawls from one end of the veranda to the other, a distance of about 30 feet.

He smiles at one of the journalists as he tugs at her hand. She squats down to his level and touches his face. He lifts his twisted arms, wraps her in a bear hug and won't let go. She hugs him back.

"You will see the face of Christ," FFP president Robin G. Mahfood had told the journalists before their trip began. For the reporters, the visit to the Golden Age Home has become a matter of recognition.

(Food for the Poor provides medical assistance for thousands throughout the Caribbean and Latin America each year. In 2002, for example, FFP shipped more than $124.1 million worth of medicines, medical equipment and supplies to Third World countries.)

(3/11/04) [[In-content Ad]]