Old Water Tank in Epping Farm On a recent trip to Epping Farm, Jamaica, I was appalled at the lack of adequate services provided for the people living in that part of the island. The government has forgotten that people outside of the “tourist zones” have needs.
The roads are horrible, the one bridge to cross the Yallahs River to get from St. Thomas to St. Andrew (a necessity for anyone needing to get into Kingston for food and work) no longer exist, there are no adequate grocery stores, there are no water faucets (cistern pipes) along any of the roads I walked or rode on, and the three water tanks I grew up seeing are now non-existent. The lack of water most of the time, had me especially anxious when fire started in the hills a few days ago.
The roads are horrible, the one bridge to cross the Yallahs River to get from St. Thomas to St. Andrew (a necessity for anyone needing to get into Kingston for food and work) no longer exist, there are no adequate grocery stores, there are no water faucets (cistern pipes) along any of the roads I walked or rode on, and the three water tanks I grew up seeing are now non-existent. The lack of water most of the time, had me especially anxious when fire started in the hills a few days ago.
How Residents Currently Get Water When Available The older generation I grew up knowing since birth are now in their nineties or dead, and very little has changed. In fact, things seem to have gotten worse. How can that be? I remember having a water pipe to walk to that was close to my grandparent’s house when water was needed. Today it does not exist. None of the three water tanks used only for emergencies exist or are in working conditions today. The roads I walked on from infancy to six years old have not been improvement since the 1960’s. Walking on them now could cause major injuries to ones body. The few drivers that try to navigate the roads because of necessity create more of a problem for their vehicles than anything else. The problems members of the community encounter day after day would fill volumes and their stories would not be pleasant ones. When I asked members of the community why these problems have not been addressed, the typical answer is “I don’t know. We have an MP but nothing gets done. No one remembers us except when it is voting time.” On a side note, when I complained to someone in Kingston about the problems in the community, he said to me that the MP for that area would not get any help unless he “had the ears of someone in government in Kingston”. I said, “I thought he was a government official representing the people in his district.” I was told I was naive to think “a country MP was going to be heard”. I groaned like my grandmother did when the burdens of life got too much for her to bear.
These are the times when I start to think about winning the lottery because I swear I would spend most of the money helping these forgotten people. I would spend the money building roads, water tanks, water pipes, wells, filtration systems, houses, supermarkets, schools, churches, Health Clinics, hospitals. I would build the bridge that has been broken for years, and create a better path for drivers to cross the river when it rises. I would create a transportation system for people to use all across the parish. Can you believe that people still walk miles every day to get from Penlyne Castle to Morant Bay or Epping Farm to Cedar Valley? Do you know that the nearest hospital for people in Epping Farm, Penlyne Castle, Hagley Gap and all places in between is more than fifty rough miles away? Try driving a sick person on the winding, unpaved, rocky roads to the closest hospitals. I can see the sick wanting to stay home instead of taking that drive. There is nothing comfortable about it.
The people who live in Hagley Gap, Minto, Epping Farm, Farm Hill, Penlyne Castle, and other districts in St Thomas have grown accustomed to “getting nothing.” They have grown accustomed to getting no answer from their government officials for any help requested. What they do instead is hold on to their faith, do their little farming and continue to pray that someone will save them from utter misery.
So what is it that the government of Jamaica needs to do for the people in St. Thomas? They can begin by creating a simple plan to tackle any of the thing mentioned. They can for example, provided money and other resources needed to build a simple concrete water tank? How much does that cost for a government that spends thousands of dollars on trips abroad, on athletic endeavors, on entertainment endeavors, on tourism, and so many other things? Can the government just simply decide to just use some of the funds usually spent on those things to build a simple water tank? The people in St. Thomas would be thankful for any assistance they can get. I cannot stand the though of another hundred years going by and things continue to remain the same
My mission now is to get water in any form to the unrepresented people in St. Thomas. I am going to buy my lottery ticket.
BMR
These are the times when I start to think about winning the lottery because I swear I would spend most of the money helping these forgotten people. I would spend the money building roads, water tanks, water pipes, wells, filtration systems, houses, supermarkets, schools, churches, Health Clinics, hospitals. I would build the bridge that has been broken for years, and create a better path for drivers to cross the river when it rises. I would create a transportation system for people to use all across the parish. Can you believe that people still walk miles every day to get from Penlyne Castle to Morant Bay or Epping Farm to Cedar Valley? Do you know that the nearest hospital for people in Epping Farm, Penlyne Castle, Hagley Gap and all places in between is more than fifty rough miles away? Try driving a sick person on the winding, unpaved, rocky roads to the closest hospitals. I can see the sick wanting to stay home instead of taking that drive. There is nothing comfortable about it.
The people who live in Hagley Gap, Minto, Epping Farm, Farm Hill, Penlyne Castle, and other districts in St Thomas have grown accustomed to “getting nothing.” They have grown accustomed to getting no answer from their government officials for any help requested. What they do instead is hold on to their faith, do their little farming and continue to pray that someone will save them from utter misery.
So what is it that the government of Jamaica needs to do for the people in St. Thomas? They can begin by creating a simple plan to tackle any of the thing mentioned. They can for example, provided money and other resources needed to build a simple concrete water tank? How much does that cost for a government that spends thousands of dollars on trips abroad, on athletic endeavors, on entertainment endeavors, on tourism, and so many other things? Can the government just simply decide to just use some of the funds usually spent on those things to build a simple water tank? The people in St. Thomas would be thankful for any assistance they can get. I cannot stand the though of another hundred years going by and things continue to remain the same
My mission now is to get water in any form to the unrepresented people in St. Thomas. I am going to buy my lottery ticket.
BMR