Inner-city loving

Patrina Pink, Gleaner Writer

For the next few days, the streets of the Corporate Area and other urban centres across the island will be littered with the leaves of wilting roses and other vestiges of the 'love fest' that is St Valentine's Day. Despite criticism concerning paganism and materialism, many religious organisations have embraced the day for lovers. One organisation that is encouraging couples to celebrate their love on Valentine's Day is Family Life Ministries which hosted a special pre-Valentine's Day dinner for more than 100 inner-city couples.

The couples, hosted on the grounds of Family Life Ministries in St Andrew Saturday night, were counselled by the Reverend Donovan Cole of the Molynes Road-based Calvary Gospel Assembly. Cole spoke passionately about marriage as a 'fusion of two halves' as well as the stages of a relationship.

"We wanted to give couples an opportunity to spend some special time together to dress up and go out ... ." said Barry Davidson, chief executive officer of the ministry. Davidson said the evening was funded by several corporate entities as well as through donations from a generous group of medical doctors.

"They pay for nothing, the only thing we ask them to do is to dress up, we got buses to bring them up and we have photographers so that they can have a memory."

Nicole and Winston McKenzie have been married for just under a decade and live in Trench Town. The couple are expecting their first child on May 31 and will celebrate their 10th anniversary on June 30. The dinner was a special night for them because it allowed them to reflect on their journey as a couple.

"Marriage in the inner city is tough," said Nicole. "It's tough because of the culture and what it says about marriage."

Winston added that he and other committed men sometimes felt pressured into promiscuity.

"Is like they say you can't have just one woman. Yes, you can have a wife, but you have to have girl here and girl there (as well)."

The couple attributed a strong spirituality to their success so far and recommended that young couples sharpen their communication skills, which include never going to bed angry at each other.

Fifty-nine-year-old Lorna and 69-year-old Deryck Matthews were one of dozens of elderly couples at the special night for lovers. The two hail from Arnett Gardens and have been together for 35 years. They believe younger couples in the inner city are too eager to call it quits and many are selfish.

"Nuff of the younger man dem in the community now say that them naw mind no man pickney," said Lorna. Deryck said he supported the son Lorna had from a previous relationship and had no issue with fusing both families.

"Me love them and me look after them," he said.

Deryck, who had a stroke in 1999 which affected his speech and forces him to focus deeply when forming words, is also wheelchair mobile.

"Is me haffi look after him now that him get the strokes, but me naw leave him," said Lorna. She described Deryck as the "man of her dreams".

But Deryck was not to be outdone. "From I know her, I love her to this very moment."