Dump becomes a home for thousands of poor

(Editor's note: 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.)

In the 82-degree air of Kingston, Jamaica, the smell of rot is so heavy that it almost overwhelms a group of journalists as they climb off a bus.

They come bearing gifts of food and dried milk for the elderly and children who reside in Riverton, a community of 2,500 people that sits on the edge of the Kingston City dump, surrounded by the majestic Blue Mountains.

The residents are so poor that they have to scavenge through the dump for everything they have.

Waste not

Smiling seniors and dubious young parents carrying babies and toddlers greet the visitors. Along with Food for the Poor (FFP) representatives, the journalists have come to visit the solid waste project that FFP built.

As the group walks towards the settlement, curious children and residents swell their numbers. They pick their way around shards of broken glass and dump debris scattered along dirt pathways that are hard-packed by years of foot traffic.

Sydney Henry, an FFP liaison, explains that some of the residents have been living at Riverton dump for as long as it has existed: 25 years.

Nowhere to go

"People come here when there is no other place to go," Mr. Henry explains. "Some have been burned out of other settlements; some are hiding from the government. Generations of families live here."

It is, he notes, a community of disease, starvation, unemployment and suffering, but it is "their way of life."

Two canals run through the settlement, one on either side of the community.

"After heavy rains," Mr. Henry says, "these canals fill with runoff and frequently overflow, bringing human sewage and water-borne diseases with them. Residents frequently bathe in the canals. What we have done is to begin building an infrastructure by way of controlled wash areas and some toilet facilities, to alleviate illness and try to improve all-around health."

Louise's story

As the visitors reach an open area near one of the sewage canals, a middle-aged woman begins to tag along, her brown-and-yellow taffeta dress ruffled by the breeze as she walks and her clear plastic flip-flops silent as she steps around the litter.

"My name is Louise," she says.

As the group moves on, Louise follows, chatting with members of the group. She is 59, the mother of four grown sons and a daughter. Her sons all live in Jamaica, but her daughter is in Florida. She quickly adds that her pride-and-joys are "my three beautiful grandboys," who visit occasionally and bring "clothes and sometimes fresh fruit."

'My home'

Louise has lived in Riverton for "more than 20 years," but she can't remember exactly how long it has been or why she came.

"I like living here fine," she says. "This is my home. It's safe here. I have friends here. Why would I live anywhere else?"

Home for Louise has no running water and small fires that burn constantly, adding the smell of smoldering wood to the heavy air. Zigzagging back and forth across the alleys and fences, Christmas tree lights and naked bulbs are strung haphazardly.

Wiring, located at the edge of the settlement, carries electric service throughout the city, Mr. Henry explains. But illegal lines have been "jury-rigged" by the residents. It is a terrible hazard, he admits, but the government ignores it, and people use it for lighting at night.

"As a result," he notes, "there are often fires that destroy rows of homes. It is not unusual for whole sections to burn at one time. Fire is a big threat here."

Housing

Although FFP has not been able to construct many homes, they have put up a few for the most needy. One shelters four generations of the same family. Another houses George, who lives in a one-room, clapboard structure that FFP calls a basic home. It has two windows and two doors.

"Before he moved into this house, George lived in an abandoned Volkswagen bus with his pet pigs," Mr. Henry says. "When he saw his new home for the first time, he thought that the house might be too big for him."

As the journalists end their tour and head back, Louise comes along again. She pulls one reporter aside, her nervousness apparent.

"Please tell them I would like a nice home," she pleads. "Please, lady, just a small house where my grandboys can come and spend some time with their grandmum. God bless you for coming. God bless you all."

(In 2003, FFP built 1,800 homes for impoverished families. Since 1982, they have built more than 20,000 homes for the poor in Third World countries. Each basic house costs $2,000 to build. The homes can be easily modified for expansion from 18'x12' -- one room -- to 24 square feet -- two rooms. Separate outhouses are often shared by two or more families. For information about FFP, visit www.foodforthepoor.org.)

(3/4/04) [[In-content Ad]]