Mom struggles to feed family amid severe hardship

With tears welled in her eyes, a Kingston woman has she opened up about her many challenges in providing for her family.

The woman, who lives in one of the Corporate Area's harshest communities, says she struggles to put food on the table daily as her income is simply not enough.

"How me survive? A out a sex and hustling make me can eat, me a tell yuh the truth. If me fi wait pon my pay a week time, my pickney nuh eat, and my family nuh good. Me affi lef out early a morning time and walk and beg $100 from people," Jody* told THE STAR.

When this newspaper met her in his community last Friday, Jody, 46, was eating saltfish and dumpling from a small box. She had a box milk as beverage. She said it was her first meal in two days, but her fasting was not due to religious reasons. She simply did not have the money to prepare or purchase a hot meal.

"Round here suh, a the fittest a the fittest survivor. Me couldn't sleep good last night [Thursday] the way how me hungry. Me dying fi day light, 'cause me not even did have sugar fi make likkle tea," said Jody, who lives in close proximity to the Riverton City dump.

A mother of three and grandmother to two, Jody works as a janitor at a gaming lounge, where she earns $2,000 per day or $10,000 for a five-day workweek. This is significantly less than the minimum wage of $13,000 per 40 hour workweek, or $2,600 per eight-hour workday.

From her measly earnings, she has to find bus fare and lunch money for her 16-year-old son, who is in fourth form at a Corporate Area high school. That expense is $1,200 daily. In addition, she has to purchase groceries and pay her bus fare to attend her work.

Jody is also part of a 'partner', an informal savings scheme, which runs her up to $3,000 per week.

"Some days me nuh eat. Me affi fast til me reach home, and when me reach home, food nuh deh deh neither. It nuh pretty, and a nuff cry me cry because me a work fi my own and me still caah see better. Wah else lef fi me do?" she said, as her eyes swelled with tears.

The Planning Institute of Jamaica last year estimated the poverty rate at 16.7 per cent, reflecting an increase of 5.7 percentage points relative to 2019.

Jody, who has been living in her impoverished community since she was 13 years old, after becoming pregnant, said she has pulled out all the stops in a bid to change her fortunes.

"Me go fi apply fi purchase the lot weh me live pon and dem say it's not for sale. Me just want a change of fate, 'cause roun' yah come in like a hold-dung ting. A prayers keep me right now, my mother prayers and Father God," she said.

* Name changed to protect identity.