I Can children cramped,
but happy for the holidays
By Alita Singh
DUTCH QUARTER—Twenty-five children of varying ages in a three-bedroom house for an extended period would drive any mother crazy, even with around-the-clock help. This is exactly the situation with which Cassandra Gibbs of I Can Foundation Foster Home is dealing this holiday season.
After fire destroyed the Dutch Quarter foster home on August 1, Gibbs moved the children to the foundation’s emergency shelter a stone’s throw away from the old dwelling.
As Christmas approaches, the children are cramped, but are in very high spirit. They are also being showered with numerous gifts from the island’s community and several businesses and groups have hosted them in the past weeks in the spirit of the holidays.
Although gifts and food supplies are coming in, the home still needs a solid base to keep up with all of its daily needs. Keeping 25 mouths fed is not easy, especially when the Central Government has lagged behind for about three months with the contribution of NAf. 500 per child it pays for 21 of the 25 children.
To make ends meet, Gibbs, a school bus driver who has poured her entire life into the home, has been adding her salary to donations. The Central Government cleared off its arrears recently, but this did not spell relief for the home’s tight finances.
The Department of Physical Planning has just informed Gibbs that a payment of some NAf. 4,500 has to be made for the building permit so rebuilding of the foster home, which also used to be Gibbs’ residence, could begin.
For the comfort of the children, work on the new home will commence as soon as the permit is in hand, with the handful of donations received from Good Samaritans and volunteer labour pledged by some contractors, carpenters, masons and others.
Getting to this stage was not simple for the foster home. Shortly after the fire, which scared the younger children, Gibbs’ had to fight a battle to prove that she was the legal and rightful owner of the land. Another family placed a claim on the land, but this was strongly rebuffed by Gibbs who produced documents to back up her claim.
When asked how she expected to pay for the building permit, the formidable woman said, “I just got my pay cheque, so I guess that’s where it has to go. I can’t wait too long to pay up, because I don’t want it said that I made a lot of noise about not getting it and now that it is ready, no moves are being made.”
Christmas and the entire holiday season will be very festive for the home’s children despite the cramped living quarters. “We will make it as wonderful as possible. In the past we had a large porch and yard to do much more. This year, we will make it extra special for the children.”
