Water, water everywhere

Numerous beaches along Jamaica's southern coast are home to people searching for work as fishermen. Ninety years ago, a small group of them decided to settle on Farquhar's Beach, where 1,500 people now live.

The secluded beach provides easy access to the sea where red snapper, mackerel and Kingfish swim freely in the warm waters off the coast. But while the fish are plentiful, natural fresh water sources are virtually non-existent.

In addition, there is no electricity for the settlement, which has inadequate housing and no sanitary facilities. The result is children who suffer from diseases and lack of education.

Finding water

"The women used to bathe, do laundry and cook from a stream that is half-fresh water and half-salt water," says Sydney Henry of Food for the Poor.

Until FFP intervened, that stream was the village's only source of water. After constructing basic homes for 74 families and a school for the children, FFP is still trying to find a natural fresh water source, but its hands are temporarily tied in a legal battle with the owner of the property the fishing families occupy. So FFP is bringing in water.

Farquhar's Beach was renamed St. Mark's Village when the pastor of nearby St. Mark's Roman Catholic parish began to take an interest in the residents' plight. Last year, FFP partnered with the parish to provide additional help.

Fisherman

When journalists recently visited, one elderly gentleman sat quietly in the shade of some palm fronds spread over a makeshift frame. He was mending his fishing nets.

Cecil Williams, 66, told the visitors, "I fish in the dark, after the full moon," when the fish swim closest to the surface.

His fingers worked deftly at his net, tying new blue thread onto the older white thread. Like a tailor, he sewed triangles of netting together with a flat, notched knife.

"You must tie the point to the point," he explained, his fingers and knife working nimbly. He occasionally tested the netting with his bare feet, pulling it taut with his toes, making it "strong to hold the fighting fish" and admitting, after some cajoling, that the speed of his work comes only "after many years and much practice."

Improvements

Because of FFP's partnership with St. Mark's, the quality of life in the village has improved. Nine of the most needy fishing families share ownership of three boats, engines, safety gear and fishing accessories, supplied by donors. The three boats are named Noah, Moses and Fish Atlanta.

One young man carrying a deep plastic pot began to dig in the wet sand at the water's edge. Before FFP supplied fishing boats and gear, the men used such simple pots to catch crabs and shallow-water fish. Now the boats provide them with the opportunity to lay nets along the seafloor. The gear gives them the ability to catch fish in deeper water.

FFP also built two sheds for the safe storage of the boat engines and equipment, and the large community building. FFP continues supporting the villagers with regular visits by specialists, and provides powdered milk -- and the one staple that the community needs most: fresh water.

(Food for the Poor has built 80 housing units at St. Mark's, and is negotiating with the property owner to install pipes to carry fresh water into the community. The owner recently agreed to donate designated plots of land to individual families, giving them ownership. For 90 years, the villagers have lived there as "squatters.")

(3/25/04) [[In-content Ad]]