Spend within your means – Women’s Empowerment leader

MOTHER OF four Opal Dennis has come across several women in the last few weeks who are worried about not being able to purchase gifts for their children, spruce up their homes or prepare a triple-course meal on Christmas Day.

Dennis, a leader of the Women’s Empowerment Group in the Lyndhurst/Greenwich community, sympathises with these women, but she also cautioned them against allowing their inability to purchase “the bling” this Christmas to frustrate them.

“You know it’s COVID time and things are not bright; and sometimes you see people worrying and they talk about it a lot. You know they are not working and it’s Christmas and nothing not going on, so that is pressure pon pressure,” she said.

This is the situation for several of the women in her south St Andrew community. The Women’s Empowerment Group currently has about 19 women registered, but its activities are far-reaching. The group is supported by the Women’s Resource and Outreach Centre, a non-profit organisation that advocates for women, and provides a wide range of services to meet their needs.

A COVID-19 study conducted by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) found that 57 per cent of Jamaican households saw a reduction in income between the onset of the coronavirus in March and September. The employed labour force for July 2020 stood at nearly 1,118,300, which was a 10.8 per cent decline when compared to July of last year.

In the Greater Kingston metropolitan area, 49 per cent of households indicated that they had experienced some reduction in their income, according to STATIN. The majority of Jamaican households are headed by females.

ENCOURAGEMENT

In an effort to empower the women in her group, Dennis has been encouraging them to spend within their means.

“Christmas is just a one day [event], if you don’t have the money to buy a new curtain, the one that you used last year, wash it, put it up back; wash the mat, put it up back. If you don’t have the money to buy the paint, wipe off the wall, put in little Christmas music, and you and the children get soap and water and wipe off the wall and just know that we don’t have it this year, but a next time will come,” she said.

She said women can also reuse one of the several bed spreads they are likely to have.

Dennis wants women to get creative in the kitchen if they are unable to purchase the ingredients for a traditional Christmas feast, which often includes rice and gungo peas, two to three meats and sorrel for most families.

“Me always say, if it is even little chicken back, sit down around the table, hold hands and bless it,” she said.

She suggested other alternatives to rice and peas.

“Yam and dumpling is still food.”

“Don’t you can cook white rice? Go and buy two pounds of rice, buy a chicken, put like a piece of pumpkin in it, put little colour inna it with some thyme, a pound of mix vegetable, and you are good to go,” said the community activist.

She said it is important that children are made to understand the reasons for downscaling Christmas festivities this year. She said they can be encouraged to wrap personal items in gift wraps which they can pass on to other siblings. A note attached to the present makes it even more sentimental.

“Stop worrying about the stuff that you don’t have or the stuff that you cannot buy, that is only going to put on more pressure,” she admonished mothers.

nadine.wilson@gleanerjm.com