Dedicated caregiver falls on hard times

Having dedicated most of her life to taking care of old people, Lorna 'Aunty Dawnie' Brown has now fallen on hard times.

Brown, 62, moved from Bath, St Thomas, to the Corporate Area in 2005 to seek a better life. Finding a place to occupy was a struggle until she learnt of the house of the legendary preacher Alexander Bedward in August Town.

"Mi get the work and did a look a room. I asked the lady that was responsible for the place and she told me that I had to pay bills and if I can help out the old people living here by boiling water to put in their thermos in the morning. But then mi tell myself that wasn't enough, because when me come here, none a them couldn't go a the fireside go cook. I made sure I cooked for them before I went to work. I did that until they passed," said Brown.

The persons that Brown referred to were three 'Bewdardites' who lived at the premises for years. Despite feeling weak, Brown smiled when she remembered the last of the three, who died at age 101.

"Before Miss Ester died one Saturday morning, I was going to the market and left her in the care of her church sister. Before mi leave, she say to me 'Mi love yuh, enuh, and mi nuh want nobody do you nothing' and mi say 'Mi love you too'. From that day she neva say nothing else until she pass," Brown said.

"After that my sister was sick and I took care of her until she passed, and this year my mother Myrtle Taylor was here with me. She was bedridden and I was taking care of her while I was sick. She passed away in April at 88 years old. She was an on the go person, and I got that from her 'cause we went to work together and people didn't even pay us. We did go through struggles, enuh, some time mi sit down and tears just a flow," she continued.

While expressing her love and passion for helping old people, THE STAR team observed that a bus from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security stopped to drop off lunches for about 10 people. Brown started calling the recipients, who are old and needy people in the community, who she used to deliver the meals to.

"When I was much younger, I wanted to be a nurse but I got to realise that I couldn't manage blood, so I changed my mind. I didn't get an education past primary, but in 2006 I did a course in quilting and draping. I used the skill and made cushions, drapery and runners. I used to earn from it, but people stopped buying them because the ready-made ones became popular and cheaper so I was doing mainly domestic work," Brown said.

Brown, who has been living with diabetes and hypertension for some time, said her health has worsened over the years. She opened a small shop during the pandemic, but the place has deteriorated physically and she is unable to restock it. She sometimes takes coal on credit and sells it to manage herself. When she is unable to do that, she makes and tries to sell bag juice.

"Mi a try fi miself but mi really need the help. Mi have relatives and children but the whole a them flat like me. My children do what them can do 'cause a dem pay for the colonoscopy and some other tests, but mi need help fi get back on my foot. Mi always want a house but I don't have any land to put it, so if a even fi just fix the shop and put some things in it, mi really need the help," Brown said.

Persons wishing to assist Lorna Brown may contact her at 876-886-1331.