‘I want to serve people’

Sandra Ewan, a 58-year-old resident of Kingston living with special needs, has one major life regret: taking up the Government’s Special Early Retirement Programme (SERP) offer in 2018.

The programme was initiated in light of the Pensions (Public Service) Act 2017, which adjusted the terms under which public sector workers could retire. It was open to eligible public sector workers who were permanent employees between the ages of 50 and 59 years, with the exception of health professionals, members of the security forces, correctional officers, and teachers.

Applications under the SERP were to be submitted to the relevant human resource management section of each state body by February 16, 2018, and Ewan was among the applicants.

Among the incentives included in the SERP was the offer of two weeks’ salary for each year of service up to a maximum of one year’s salary and payment in lieu of accumulated vacation leave.

Ewan joined the Ministry of Works as a clerk in 1998 and moved up the ranks to registrar, town planning and personnel management, before securing another administrative job at the Ministry of Water and Housing.

While working as a public servant, she was able to mortgage a house in 1998, which she is on the verge of losing, given that she has fallen into arrears.

Back in 2018, Ewan was a director of employee relations in a government ministry and early retirement with cash in hand was a tempting offer, especially after she suffered a stroke a year before and was unable to see clearly.

“I already walked with a limp [from birth], so I had one disability dealing with. Twenty-seventeen was another turning point in my life. The stroke, though minor, it was a big setback – the biggest setback I could ever have,” Ewan told The Gleaner.

“That stroke affected my brain and it affected my vision. Initially, I couldn’t see at all. My left eye was most affected; my right eye was okay. It was restored to a point. I had to be led – somebody had to be holding my hand carrying me around all over the place – and then I realised my sight was coming back,” she explained.

After taking up the SERP offer, things seemed to be going well for Ewan.

By staying home and resting, her vision was eventually restored and she was able to buy a car from her retirement funds.

However, when the pandemic hit, her husband started working fewer hours as a mechanic with curfews and lockdowns. He also met in an accident with her car and she started dipping into her pre-retirement money, which she says has now all dried up.

40 job interviews

Amid all her challenges, the wife and mother of one autistic son believes she can recover if given the chance to become employed again, but of the more than 40 job interviews she has been to in recent months, she was only employed by a call centre – a job she could not maintain, given the fast-paced nature of the operation.

“Many times, I say to myself, ‘I am sorry I took up the pre-retirement’ because at least I had a more secured future. At least I could see my way much better than I am right now,” Ewan, who has a bachelor’s degree in human resource management from the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean, told The Gleaner.

“I used to type my own mail, do all of that for myself, but it became difficult because my eyes were not straight. It (vision) was crooked. I was seeing slant and illusions ... and it was difficult for me to see at the time after the stroke,” she said.

The frustrated Ewan told The Gleaner that she believes all other prospective employers have rejected her because of the two disabilities.

“I was told by my mom that she wanted me to finish school and get an education. I got the education and I still can’t get a job,” she lamented.

“One person told me that she couldn’t hire me because of two little steps and I’m coming from a ministry where whenever the fire drill hits, you have to run on stairs coming down, and she had two little steps and she said she couldn’t hire me because of the steps and she don’t think I could manage the steps,” Ewan told The Gleaner.

On the other hand, discrimination is something she has got used to. Since childhood, she has been prone to teasing about the condition of her feet.

She told The Gleaner that she was often scorned and ridiculed by insensitive people who do not know how to treat persons living with special needs.

“As a child growing up, at two years [old], I was told that I couldn’t walk very well. ... I used to fall regularly and the doctors told my parents to operate on me to see if they can straighten my leg, [but] my father said no, and I’m glad he used his wisdom because I’ve seen others do it and it has not done anything for them ... . I know someone who did it, and it made him walk worse,” Ewan explained.

“People would look on me weird. As a teenager, they called me ‘Chucky’ [and] ‘Bruk-Up’. Growing up as a teenager was a challenge because none of the guys didn’t want me. They loved my sisters; they didn’t love me,” she said.

That was a life struggle she overcame and eventually found a husband.

For now, Ewan, like many other disabled Jamaicans, wants a chance to land a job that can help to sustain her household and pay their monthly expenses.

A people person

“I am a people person. I want to serve people. Some people say I should sell ice cream, but I can’t think of a business plan because I am a people person. It’s all about people for me; serving. Some people, they want to do business, [but] I want to serve people,” she said.

“I don’t know what else to do at this time. Pension can’t really do nothing, and I’m saying, ‘Lord, I need to be able to do something for a second income.’

“I need a job and all these people are turning me down. They don’t think that disabled people need something too! I am desperate for something to happen. I have a servant heart, a servant mind. It’s just service for me,” she said.

Ewan believes the best job for her would be one where she can serve as an advocate for the disabled, but even the disabilities and civil services associations she did interviews with have not hired her.

“I want to be an advocate because I am sure there are many others who are going through rough seasons because no one is giving them a chance. Nobody is giving them a break to show that they can do the job. It’s not about how you walk; it’s not about even how you speak. We (disabled people) are blessed with the skills and the talents to perform,” she said.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com

How you can help

Persons interested in assisting Ewan can contact her at 876-568-8272 or 876-859-9339.