Blind, partially deaf mother of four seeks assistance as Christmas nears

Alicia Fowler, a blind and partially deaf mother of four, has a burning desire to be the kind of mother her children deserve.

But unemployed, disabled, and ailing with other health issues, the 48-year-old finds it difficult to make ends meet on a daily basis.

As a result, Fowler is seeking the assistance of the public and corporate Jamaica in helping her to have a merry Yuletide season for her children’s sake and a more liveable environment for them to function in.

Speaking with The Gleaner yesterday, Fowler said that to earn a living, she would frequent downtown Kingston with her two younger children – an 11-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy – to sell bag juice. This, however, has not been the ideal situation as her hustle results in her only earning between $500 and $1,000 daily.

However, she remains thankful for “God’s grace” because on some days, “nothing nuh gwan,” she said of selling bag juice, noting that they would quickly melt when in the hot sun and that she would have to return home.

“Sometime a daytime me just cry because sometime when me [think about it], y’know, me cyah be the mother like how dem want me to be,” she said of her children, adding that despite her deteriorating health, she does her best for them not to “feel bad”.

She shared that she often worries about them because they are continuously ridiculed by their peers when they are seen with her.

Fowler laments that her two older children, who have long left the home, have not shown interest in assisting their younger siblings. She said they have not kept in contact with her either.

“My mother died and my father, so dem haffi a depend on meself, and me also have one mad brother weh when him come, me just [have to share] whatever me have,” Fowler explained.

As she wore a dejected expression, Fowler, who was eventually brought to tears over her current living conditions and her seeming inability to effectively provide and care for her children, said that “it just kind of rough”.

“Sometime me just have to cry to God, y’know. Sometime even when dem ask me for money, me just cyah assist them sometime [and] so dem haffi go without,” she said.

Fowler became blind after being shot in the face by gunmen who invaded her home in 1996 and robbed her. The bullet went into her right eye, exiting through her left ear.

At the moment, Fowler and her kids are sleeping on the floor of the house on a very old mattress. They are in need of help to obtain food, clothing, furniture, and appliances like a refrigerator and four-burner stove as they lack the basic necessities for survival.

Fowler is also in need of cement, windows, and doors to help with her home’s construction, which has been put on hold along with some sheets of zinc to replace her leaking roof.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com

Persons interested in assistingAlicia Fowler can contact her via telephone at 1-876-213-4055 or 1-876-314-3848.