By Lisa Hamilton

AMAZING things happen when people put aside their differences and work towards a collective good. This is something Jenneta Brandon is confident of, having watched the transformation of a woman’s once destitute condition, to a better way of life.

It all began last year when Brandon met 54-year old Seeta Singh at the Parika/Mora Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), where the woman and her 11-year-old grandson were visiting to collect her public assistance.

Singh had unfortunately come on the wrong day, and in conversation with Brandon, opened up about her living condition and the current issue that, without the public assistance, she now had no money to return home.

Not knowing whether to believe the woman fully, Brandon gave Singh something to eat for the two and called and paid for a taxi for them to return home.

On February 13, 2020, while paying a visit to the Sea Dam, Parika – the area Singh grew up in – Brandon coincidently came into contact with the woman again.

She was chatting with an old friend who she calls ‘Aunty Anita’, when she was made aware that there was very poor woman living in an unbelievable condition just next door on the river bank.

UNBELIEVABLE CONDITIONS
Being inquisitive, Brandon went over to the dilapidated shack in which, to her surprise, she saw the woman she met months ago at the NDC.

Singh’s disability is that one of her foot is longer than the other due to polio. A part from that, a quick look into her ‘home’ would render the conclusion that she was barely surviving.

There was one tattered couch in the shack, an old mattress, a make-shift hammock, a photo of Hindu goddess of knowledge, Saraswati; a few rusted pots and clothing items hung on the wooden frame of the shack.

Brandon later found out that when the high tide came, Singh would have no option but to sleep in the bed just the same.

The woman’s husband had passed away, one of her five children also passed away and a daughter of hers is mentally ill and can often be seen roaming the streets of Parika. The situation was dire and Brandon had not seen anything like it before.

Two of the woman’s children visited from time to time but they are also challenged with poverty. One of her sons, a 22-year-old, does day-to-day work and supports his mother when he can.

Eventually receiving the backstory, Brandon was told that while the woman’s son was alive, he had started the process of building a home for his family. However, when he died, those who took care of his funeral arrangements wanted payment and the only thing she could offer was the uncompleted house.

As if this was not enough, at some point prior, Singh had a stroke and fell and injured herself.

I MUST HELP
Overwhelmed with the situation, Brandon promised Singh that she would return to help somehow but one way or the other. That night when she went to bed, she could not shake the matter from her mind.

“I went home and I just couldn’t sleep. I didn’t expect to see what I saw,” she told the newspaper. “I knew I had to do something for her, I prayed about it.”

She revisited Singh the next day having devised a plan to appeal for the support of others who would be willing to assist. She took a photo of the woman and the shack she called home and shared it on her Facebook page, referring to Singh as a beautiful woman in the community in grave need of help.

Soon after support began to pour in and while there were more promises than fulfillments, many persons did indeed pool their resources to help Singh. One company which assisted largely was Comfort Sleep. Three other youth groups also pitched in.

TOTAL TRANSFORMATION
Today, Singh has a new house, a new bed and bedroom, a living room area with sofas and kitchen area with a sink, cupboards, kitchen utensils and groceries – a place she can truly called home.

The two-bedroom house is also now located a short distance from the water side. In a number of videos posted on Brandon’s timeline along the way, one could see the number persons involved in the construction of the home.

When Singh was finally carried into the house on February 29, 2020, she was moved to tears, perhaps simply taking in the reality that strangers had come to her rescue and now she would be alright. She referred to the building as her “dream house”.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to know that despite all that’s going on right now with the politics and what not, these people stepped up and contributed. There are some who couldn’t have contributed, they prayed. They’re all from different ethnic groups; it was really, really nice,” Brandon said.

Aunty Anita, who lives next door, was also given some food items to support Singh along the way.

I WANT TO DO MORE
Brandon is now asking the public to pool their efforts so that Singh can be presented with a wheel chair for better movement in her home as well as pampers.

She now has a barrel where she stores items that are donated and also wants to take Singh to the doctor soon for a check-up.

Brandon has the support of her husband and mother and does these acts because she too grew up poor and knows what it is like to be without.

“We grew up very poor,” she said. “My mommy used to work with people doing domestic work. We grew up really poor in a little house with one bedroom. I know what it means to be hungry and to wear other people’s clothing. I’ve been there and so I’m not rich, but the little that I have, once I can do something for you, I’m going to go all out.”

Brandon, a Seventh-Day-Adventist, has spent many Sabbaths assisting others as she believes that prayers are essential but action too is need.

One day, she hopes to open her own orphanage which would be a continuation of the random acts of kindness and assistance she does in her community with her own earnings.

She said, “It’s my dream to have my own orphanage and to share things. I don’t want to be rich. I just want to have enough to share.”

Those who wish to donate to the cause can contact Janetta Brandon at +592 680 4175.