LETTERS FROM JSH VOLUNTEER NURSES

Riverton City, Kingston, Jamaica, February 2005

FROM MARG TUNNEY…

This is Day 4 of my 15th trip to Jamaica. I was thinking about what has changed… the weather – it’s actually been cool – there are ten times as many cars on the road. Nissan is the coveted car here, well most likely to get stolen. No bananas! Ivan destroyed all plantations but they reproduce remarkably fast. By late fall they will have local fruit again. In the area where we work there seem to be more people working, and a little less poverty among the younger residents. The elderly are still very, very poor. Many have no relatives in the country, so they have no support. A group of women prepare a hot lunch at noon for the children attending the basic school, and they include the elderly who have joined the “club.” About 20 members - it’s an outing, and one hot meal at least.

Now, what hasn’t changed? The pot holes in the streets. It’s the first thing we notice when we come home – the smooth ride. I’m sure the roads in Jamaica have not been touched in all the years we have been riding on them. Tully, our taxi driver for years, has a 15 year old car which rattles as he drives in and over the bumps. He stops almost every morning for air in one of the tires.. but no problem! We always get there!

The crime rate has not improved: from January 1 to 21, 2005 there were 62 murders reported. Most of these are gang related. Last weekend there were three children murdered in their home. The father of these children had moved out of their home, thinking they would be safer if he didn’t live there.

There seem to be opportunities now for the poor people and their children to get medical help. More doctor teams from abroad visit clinics and hospitals; in March of this year, 8 surgical doctors will come to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Kingston for 2 weeks to treat children who otherwise could not afford surgery. The hospital will give them the use of 2 O.R. theatres and aftercare for the children.

Riverton City is a community of 8000 people. My remarks apply mainly to the people of this community. At one end of the property is the dump for the City of Kingston – it is not a healthy place to live, but it is useful to many. The homes are built from discarded corrugated tin and wood. Some of the homes are being replaced with new cement block and concrete houses about four times the size, but very expensive, so the poor don’t live in them.

The dump is useful to other residents. One day a woman in her seventies came in to the clinic complaining of a headache. I took her blood pressure - it was over 200. Since she had never been on medication, I couldn’t prescribe medicine for her. I asked her if she could go down to a clinic where a doctor worked about 4 miles away. I made a list of the blood pressure medicines we had and I asked her to get a prescription and I would fill it for free. I told her to go home and rest, since her pressure was dangerously high. She said “I have to go to the dump.” I suggested she should wait for another day, but she replied “I won’t have any supper if I don’t go”.

She arrived early the next morning after her 8 mile round-trip walk with her prescription which I filled and away she went – probably back to the dump!

The elderly poor have very little income and most have no family to help. In many cases mothers go off to Florida for work, leaving their children with the elderly Grandmothers. These are the kids who don’t go to school, have no uniforms and no lunch money. We visit the homes of the elderly who can’t come to the clinic. We bring a variety of medicines, pain pills, arthritis meds, cough meds and our blood pressure equipment. I visited an elderly woman, and ask if we could help her. She just wanted tea bags. I had them delivered to her the next day! Many ask for glasses so they can read their bible. Of course they don’t have anything else to read but they treasure their bibles and have strong faith in God - mostly Evangelical or Pentecostal.

I hope to be able to go back to our clinic in Riverton next year. It has always been rewarding and enjoyable. I have a different perspective on poverty. We have poor people in Peterborough and Ontario, but the communities, the government and many charities, Salvation Army and food banks assist the poor in many ways. The poor in Jamaica have no telephones, no transportation, no relatives, no government assistance. Neighbours try to help, but they also are poor.

FROM BETTY CAVERS…

This is my thirteenth trip to Jamaica with JSH. Our two week experience is coming to an end. we arrived here on January 21st as usual loaded down with supplies, thanks to the generosity of our friends at home. The only problem we encountered, if you want to call it a problem, was at the check-in counter of Air Jamaica in Toronto. We had to leave behind our laundry soap of all things - a new rule I guess.

I often think back to the first time here. We worked in Annotto Bay Hospital. I, of course, went to the Pediatric ward. There were very few supplies to work with. Bed linens were patched and re-patched and often in shreds. The nurse gave out medications and did treatments but relied on families to bathe and feed their children. Many brought in meals for them. On the maternity floor, instruments were boiled in a pot of water on a hot plate. The hospital had a very busy outpatient department starting about 6am. I would love to go back and see what progress has been made over the years.

The following 12 trips we mainly worked at the clinic at Riverton City. Some time was spent at St. Margaret’s Resource Centre. Riverton houses the poorest of the poor, the elderly suffering the most. The many children always seem so happy. Housing development brought big changes to Riverton. Many new homes have been built and are occupied. There are several in the construction stage. Yet, the several hundred zinc houses and the poor still remain.

Water problems persist. Only a trickle of water comes through the taps in the clinic. Up until last year there was nothing. It is hard to get too excited about the progress.

What is a great improvement is the meal program for the elderly. The meals are prepared by the cooks at the school. The elderly as well as the children share this food. One day a week Stella Maris provides a box lunch for the elderly.

The Basic school has received an uplift. The nursery school for children under 3 years is now held in a separate room set up in a vacant building on the site. This building also houses a computer lab where teenagers have computer training.

Yesterday we were given an outing to Mandeville and rode on the new toll highway. What a contrast to the pot holes we have become accustomed to!

American influence is seen everywhere. MacDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, are cropping up everywhere. As yet there is no Tim Hortons…