Inspiring Young Man

This young man, age 26, has endured a turbulent youth. Living on his own from an early age in the streets of Kingston he was faced with every possible street life challenge imaginable including brushes with gang violence as well as the law. Tired of inner city street life conditions he moved to Negril hoping for employment opportunities and a better way of life. Sadly, when you read at a primary reading level and possess modest math skills, your options are limited. As expected money grew scarce so he turned to what he knew best – hustling tourist on the beach. When this lifestyle left him spiritually empty and financially unstable, he tried a different path. He discovered Theodora Foundation and put time and energy into bettering himself as a whole. After three years he is now up to a fourth grade reading level and his math skills have improved dramatically. Equally important, his self-concept and self-esteem are developing and progressing every day. Unfortunately, he is still financially unstable, but with a renewed sense of self and spirituality, members of his community are turning to him for “handy man” type labor.

The problem? Because this young man has struggled for so long, in every way, his living arrangements are beyond minimal. Brian and I, along with another Theodora staff member, made a home visit the other day. Basically, this individual lives in a one room shelter made from local branches, cardboard, and scrap tin. He has no running water, bathroom facilities of any kind, kitchen facilities, nor electricity. The gaps in his walls as well as his roof let in everything from rain to mosquitoes. While it is true this young man’s life is improving through pure determination, dedication and perseverance, we thought it would be great if we could get a work party together and spend the day making small improvements to his shelter. The improvements we hope to make include purchasing materials such as plywood to build a new floor and new shelves. This young man also hopes to cut additional wood from the nearby forest, debark it, and with our help apply it to the existing walls for reinforcement/filling in of gaps. May not sound like much but we are estimating a price of close to $500 dollars. Any help to raise this money would be GREATLY appreciated. We hope to start work over Thanksgiving weekend.