Jamaican Poverty
Can people living on the breadline keep their sense of self respect? Can there be dignity in poverty? Trish and Kenyon from Seaview Gardens – a ghetto area of Kingston answer these questions here.
Basically they are saying that sometimes in the month, they do not have anough money for bus fare and have to ask others for help. that they are constantly in debt and are grateful to friends and family for extra help when they need it. This is not the worst example of poverty in JA but it is still important. They both have full time jobs and yet do not have enough money to heat up hot water because gas is too expensive.
This photo has been taken in Seaview Gardens in Kingston, Jamaica. It is the rubbish which is thrown in the gully. It is such a travesty to see such a beautiful island being treated like this. But people have more pressing worries on their mind – is this a valid excuse? I wonder whether poverty is a valid excuse for a lack of environmentalism?
Now it seems there will be an increase in people living in poverty, according to forthcoming figures from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ).
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First may I correct that grossly erroneous statement – Seaview Gardens was never, is not and will never be “a ghetto area in Kingston”. If someone who resides in the community of Seaview Gardens concludes that they reside in a ghetto then may I gently inform them that the ghetto may be in their own minds or at best a figment of their imaginations. Seaview Gardens twenty-five years ago was advertised in the major newspaper as a low-income housing project. I do not think ghettos are built in the first place neither are they advertised. A number of reasons both internal and external have contributed to the stagnation in which we exist. Consider cooking a pot of soup – literally throw in all the ingredient and leave it to cook on its own. You most certainly will not be getting a well blended, even texture pot of soup. Seaview is much like that soup. Initially and so it continue, little or no comprehensive plan has gone into proper socialization and community development. Had that been done, I believe a sense of of pride and willingness to work towards commuity realization would have been established from 1983. A community of great potential. Its residents are not asking for a steady diet of negative criticism but instead a comprehensive package from major stakeholder that is geared toward capitalizing on the resident innate ability to survive and aimed at mining the treasures hidden beneath the marl.
Dear correen – i’m sorry that you disagree with the statement and your words certainly paint a more accurate picture of what seaview gardens is about. ghetto is a word which i actually use quite a lot and maybe i have become lazy in its usage. i sincerely hope those treasures underneath seaview gardens will bring great wealth to the community!
Interesting comment Ms. Coreen Dennis.Nuff respect!!
Bwoy, the garbage look awful and terrible.
Thank you for your responses. I have not been back on this site since my input. I would like to respond to the obseved photo and the comment posted by Esteban Reid. The featured Sandy Gully,starts in upper St. Andrew, meanders through the middle income communities of Meadowbrook, Red Hills Rd, etc, eases through Washington Gardens, etc, then end between Riverton City and Seaview Gardens. NEPA will confirm that the sea level is infact higher than the floor of the Sandy Gully, thus disallowing the free flow of water from the gully into the sea. If you have not caught on to the picture let me explain. By virtue of being at the end of the line we aquire ownership of all that is swept down the channel. There is a natural choke at the end of the gully and using the law of ebb and flow not much movement will take place.There are a few uncivilized residents in our communities who will throw things in the gully. From my recent observations, dead animals mainly dogs and cats were noted. Today you will never see a refrigerator in the gully; scrap metal attracts top dollars. My point is we will not assume full responsibility for the appearance of Sandy Gully. The fact is that our home are not on the bank of the gully and moreover NSWA must be commended for the regularity of our garbage collection. If you really want to find the origin of the problem maybe you should start at the beginning.
yes correen – you make a clear point that the garbage is not the fault of the residents of seaview gardens alone, but everyone living along the gully shares this blame.
But who ever is to blame, what is being done about it?