Coping without Windalco - Bauxite family finds other ways to survive after layoff
Published: Friday | July 31, 2009
Jacqueline Smith, a resident of Charlemont in St Catherine, shows off some of her livestock. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
Even as the harsh reality of the slowdown in bauxite production comes home to families, Jacqueline Smith, a resident of Charlemont in St Catherine, is not giving up.
Smith started rearing goats in her backyard shortly before her common-law husband, Alrick Newton, lost his job as a mechanic at Windalco when the company began sending workers home.
Her dedication to the animals is evidenced in the clean coats and plumpness of the livestock, which she said feed mainly on cut grass and orange pulp harvested from her yard.
"I take care in whatever I do," said Smith, beaming with pride.
But the animals are not pets.
"If we have ram goat, I'll go out and look a buyer. It's hard but we have to try to do what we can do," she said.
The latest challenge for the 37-year-old mother is the mountain of expenses that will come with the new school term.
Windalco normally subsidises medical and back-to-school items for the children but, this year, that is uncertain, Smith told The Gleaner.
"But if anything I will try to reopen shop," she added, pointing to a wooden structure at the front of her house.
Making adjustments
Newton, a resident, who worked 16 years as a mechanic at Windalco, is also making adjustments to take care of his family.
"You know a time like this would come and you try to prepare but when it happens, that's when the reality hits," he said.
Newton's main income comes from transporting goods, which he does with his pickup truck.
"It is a struggle. I am on the road, sometimes 24/7, trying to get whatever job I find," Newton said.
In spite of his efforts, the former Windalco worker conceded that sometimes his children have had to miss a day or two from school because there was no money.
Even so, he is counting his blessings as some former employees find it even harder to get jobs.
One of the good things coming out of the redundancy exercises at Windalco is the unity it created among those affected.
"We call each other on the phone just to check up and, if we know of a job, we pass the information on," said Newton.
- David Fowler
