40-year-old mother of 10 - n ‘A woman was made by God to have out her lot’ ... n Fruitful Clarendon woman reflects on ridicule following cry for help

There was a time in Stacy-Ann Murray Brown's life that she prayed the death angel would visit and take her out of her misery. She had dared to seek help from the public after her house, a gift from charity entity Food For The Poor, was burnt to the ground in Portland Cottage, Clarendon, in 2016.

The ridicule she faced was due to the fact that she was a 33-year-old mother of nine children.

Murray Brown said that she was ridiculed and ostracised by persons who responded in the comments section online and on social media after her story was published in this newspaper.

"I was homeless with nine children, and when I read the comments of my fellow Jamaicans I cried," she told THE STAR. "I was broken to pieces. They were very bitter and disgraceful, and dem style mi in the worst ways possible."

"I was down on my face, and I wallowed in the mud and filth for a while. It was so bad that I called out to death, but death wouldn't come, as I just wanted to give up," the fruitful woman said.

She told THE STAR that she decided not to wallow in self-pity . As a result of the story published in this newspaper, Murray Brown received donations from persons at home and abroad. She also benefited from a two-bedroom board house from Food For The Poor.

The mother told THE STAR that she was forced to pull down the house after being asked to leave the property on which it was built. The dwelling was reconstructed on a property owned by one of her children's fathers. However, after staying there for a while, Murray Brown decided to move to another parish. She said she returned to Portland Cottage a few years later and rented another house, but could not afford the $8,000 rent.

By this time she had found a husband, who, unlike her, had no children. He became a father for the first time when Murray Brown delivered her 1oth child -- a bouncing baby boy -- one year ago.

Murray Brown's 10 children -- ages 24, 20, 18, 16, 15, 13, 12, nine, seven and one -- are fathered by 10 men. Referencing the Bible, she said "children are a blessing from God, so when God gifts a woman with so many children, I don't think it should be a problem".

"Some of who were talking didn't even have a dog puppy to take care of. I agree that no one sends us to breed, but if a woman don't have a child, then the world would be ending. If every woman should have one or two children, then the world would be underpopulated. A woman was made by God to have out her lot, and if my lot is 10, so be it," Murray Brown said.

The mother, however, admits that life has not been easy. It was this reality that led her to seek permission to occupy a house on the Moneymusk compound in Clarendon. They have since been given the keys to an eight-bedroom dwelling on the sugar estate. In addition to calling the place home, Murray Brown operates a small shop as well as her church, The Nine Fruits of Holy Spirit Church Ministry, from the compound.

"The same woman that people was criticising is now a wife and pastor," said Murray Brown, adding that her adult children have been charting their course.

"One of them recently graduated from high school; she did really well and is a top student. She wants to be the next prime minister or a judge. My first son graduated with five subjects and is running a small business, and my other son is a trained security guard at a hotel, " she said.