Living in stark poverty and dreading COVID-19
Published:Saturday | April 18, 2020 | 12:16 AM
An elderly common-law couple, Leslie Brown and Inez Colbourne of Ellerslie Pen, commonly known as Capture Land, are in urgent need of assistance.
The two, who are blind, have been together for more than 30 years with Brown battling diabetes. Their misery was made more complicated after Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared a lockdown of St Catherine to help contain a flare-up of COVID-19 cases in the parish.
They fared little better before the lockdown, as one of their two grandsons had a job at Alcore Windows and Doors. That income stream has dried up, leaving the family of four worried about their next meal.
The couple’s only source of help comes from their two grandsons, Tony Grant, who stays home to do the daily chores for his grandparents and his brother, who didn’t want his name published.
“Hearing about this coronavirus is frightening but I know from a long time ago how to keep to myself. I love people but I know how to keep away,” said Colbourne, 74.
Sixty-four-year-old Brown was formerly employed at the Spanish Town Health Centre and has been receiving a pension but that is insufficient to meet their basic needs, according to Colbourne.
Brown has had one of his legs amputated years ago to save his life. However, Colbourne boasted of her health status.
“I don’t have arthritis or sugar enuh. Even me pressure alright,” she said, managing a rare smile.
But her humour did little to hide their stark reality.
The small board structure they call home paints a vivid picture of poverty. The high zinc fence providing some amount of privacy in an otherwise grotesquely poor environment and the scare of a rampaging virus compounds the situation.
Colbourne is asking for help.
“Right now, we have nothing in the house to eat. The old man wants diapers right now and we can’t buy anything because the little is completely done, so we empty and where the next food is coming from only God knows,” Grant said while helping his aged grandmother to the door.
Tony Grant, Leslie Brown and Inez Colbourne's grandson, may be contacted at 876 576 6150