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Living Water for ‘Thirsty’
(by Melissa
Wickham – Barbados “Sunday Sun” Sept 18 2005)
Sometimes they mean the
difference between a hot meal and going to sleep hungry. Who are they?
They are the Living Water
Community Barbados.
The group of Roman Catholics is a
godsend for scores of poverty-stricken and homeless Barbadians who flock to
Heroes Square, The City, on Tuesday nights for a hot meal – for some their
only one that day.
These modern-day Samaritans also
provide spiritual food by praying with and handing out tracts to the needy.
The Community is based in
Trinidad but has been operating here since January 2003. A few members
– Rosemary Scott, Louie Cockburn and Laura-Ann Phillips – were sent from the
twin-island state to set up the mission here.
However, the need has been
growing faster than they can hand out meals.
“We cater for an average of about
65 to 70 persons. This week, we had a very large group and we ran short.
It’s painful when we can’t feed everyone,” said Scott, who is responsible
for the local mission.
“The need is increasing all the
time. The first day we went to Heroes Square we only fed about eight or ten
people but word has spread.”
Men, in particular, turn up for
the meals but there are a few women and elderly persons.
The evenings usually follow a
format – community members pray for about 15 to 20 minutes, there is singing
and the food is then distributed. Women are served first, then the elderly,
followed by the younger ones.
The Samaritans are not concerned
about people taking advantage of the mission.
“I think that anyone who comes
and lines up in the streets for everyone to see has to be in some kind of
need,” said the local leader.
She said that when she first came
to Barbados she was surprised at the number of Barbadians who did not
believe they were poor.
“The stories are the same as all
over; they just can’t make ends meet and the biggest pain is for the
children.
“Very often, children can’t get
to school because they don’t have uniforms or books. It’s just a cry for a
better life,” Scott said. “Some of them live in conditions that are
unbelievable. We had a family of 16 who lived in a two-bedroom house.
That’s the biggest thing, finding proper housing. We’ve tried to get
letters into the various ministries applying for housing. Unfortunately, we
haven’t had much response from that.”
Though the Living Water community
is always looking for assistance, the members have decided to help
themselves by hosting a concert entitled “Franciscan & Friends Music
Mission.” All proceeds will go to the Living Water Community Ministry Fund.
They are looking to build a
pastoral center for the poor. “If we have a place where people can go to,
then we can do so much more through our ministry,” Scott pointed out.
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