Hard-working vendor overcomes obstacles to provide for family
At age 11, Shawnese Lindsay started hustling in the busy streets of downtown Kingston to earn her lunch money by selling goods for vendors.
As a child growing up in Cockburn Pen in St Andrew, Lindsay's life was far from easy, because, at a young age, she became a ward of the State. Her mother, who was a domestic worker, had limited resources to care for her. But even after they were reunited, they had difficult times. So, at age 13, Lindsay dropped out of school and was left to navigate a world where she could not fluently read or write. By age 15, she was a mother herself, facing even greater challenges as she tried to raise a child while grappling with financial hardships.
"Life never easy. Mi guh through it the hardest ways, mi guh through it the roughest way," said Lindsay, who is now 41 and a mother of eight children, including two sets of twins.
"At the time, I had about five of them going to school, and it used to be one room with all of us. One room with one little double bed; suh the whole a we used to itch up in a di the one room," she explained, adding that despite the many challenges she faced, she was intent on creating a better life for her children. So she utilised the only trade she knew.
"The market is what mek we mek it through, because if mi come out with $10, sometimes mi can come back with $20. Sometimes mi guh out with $5, sometimes come out back with none at all. but mi always tell mi kids them seh yuh have to save. Yuh have to put down something for a rainy day, no matter how small it is," said Lindsay, who has a stall in the market at the intersection of March and Heywood streets, where she sells ground provisions and vegetables.
She also told THE STAR that as a vendor and a mother of many children, she often faced criticism, which at times took a toll on her.
"People would look down pan mi and seh, 'Yuh live in a one room with yuh whole heap a pickney, and yuh nah come out to nothing and unuh worthless'. People used to cuss mi and seh, 'Gweh, yuh have this one bagga 'jingbang'', and mi used to pray and cry 'bout it," she said. Rather than let these comments break her, she used them as a driving force and eventually started to build a home in Clarendon for herself and her children, while also prioritising their education.
"I don't want none of my kids to go through weh me guh through, suh mi try mi best to mek sure seh them get a good education, because it hard to have a piece of paper in front of you and can't read it," said Lindsay, who said that her mother has been a significant help in raising her children. It was her eldest who helped her develop her reading and writing skills.
She is pleased that her efforts to see her children achieve seem to be paying off. Her eldest daughter, 25-year-old Shontell Lindsay, has many trades under her belt. A certified nail technician and masseuse, she is also currently pursuing her Level 2 certification in beauty therapy at HEART/NSTA TRUST; and despite her busy schedule, still finds time to help her mother at her stall every week.
"A from mi a pickney we a duh this and mi nuh feel shame 'bout it, because mi actually enjoy selling...where else mi would a get the chance fi meet so much nice people?" Shontell said as she burst into laughter.
Also there to assist Lindsay is her 20-year-old daughter, Mickalia Cunningham, who always assists her mom during the day. Cunningham also intends to attend HEART/NSTA Trust, because she hopes to be a certified nail technician like her older sister. However, until then, she proudly sells by her mother's side.
"All we life we never see no father, and from we a pickney mummy a hussle; suh we afi help her because a it send we gah school," Cunningham said.