Editorial | After charity, let’s address the root cause

The quick, tangible response to Crystal Clarke’s story of need is a reminder that we are still a community of kindness.

A 34-year-old mother of eight children without a roof over her head and rendered jobless by the COVID-19 pandemic, Miss Clarke’s plight was aired on television in April. She captivated many viewers with her intelligence, her pleasing personality, and her obvious love for her children.

Earlier this week, a beaming Miss Clarke was given the keys to her new four-bedroom house in Portmore, St Catherine. A number of agencies and charities came together to make this dream possible on her birthday. This is particularly gratifying because, in the current pandemic, many charities have been badly affected because fundraising initiatives, particularly events, have been cancelled, and their work has been interrupted, with volunteers being locked down or being forced to stay home. The sector is said to be in deep distress.

Fortunately for Miss Clarke and her children, they can build a warm, cosy life in their spanking new home. They get to enjoy home comforts, basic needs that they were devoid of, such as a shower and getting clean running water. We imagine that she will work hard to make the house gifted to her into a beautiful home.

It will not be easy for a single mother to provide for, adequately care for, and educate eight children. It is, indeed, a tall order. We hereby make the call that all absentee fathers be compelled to shoulder their share of responsibilities, but we are well aware that this area of law enforcement is far from robust.

SEXUALITY AND REPRODUCTION

We would like to steer the conversation in another direction – towards sexuality and reproduction, topics that are very difficult to discuss publicly. This is partly because there are varying beliefs and opinions regarding sexuality and contraception. But someone needs to have the conversation, confidentially, with Miss Clarke, and the likes of her, about the disadvantages of having too many children. Someone needs to ask her the hard questions about how she plans to avoid future pregnancies. In other words, what is needed is a forum to give truthful, correct, and objective information to Miss Clarke and others who are in situations similar to hers so that they can make wise decisions to safeguard their future and that of their children.

Our raising this topic of reproduction may not please everyone. However, we believe that we must get over the prevailing social ambivalence of whether sexuality and reproduction are private matters whereby any attempt to venture into these areas is seen as an invasion of privacy.

We hold fast to the view that reproductive health, in general, and maternal health, specifically, are matters of public-health concern – and legitimately so. We cannot shy away from them. There are many single mothers like Miss Clarke. They usually have multiple children, and they do not have the means to take care of these children. Many of these children are therefore left to fend for themselves on the streets. They are vulnerable and often get recruited into gangs or resort to committing antisocial acts such as robberies as they try to eke out an existence. They, too, need to be involved in that conversation.

In recent times, murders and other heinous crimes have, unfortunately, painted Jamaica as an unsafe, harsh, and cruel place to live, but more often than not, we see humanity in people and corporations come through to render assistance to the needy. Miss Clarke’s was one such case.

There are many other single mothers like Miss Clarke who have to live and wake up in poverty every day, but even though they face unprecedented need, they are hopeful, for they know the community will respond with an outpouring of uncommon generosity.

But we, as a country, need to have those conversations early and put some checks and balances in place so as to prevent situations like that of Miss Clarke’s from recurring.