WESTERN BUREAU:

The crack cocaine and marijuana profits were sweet … and scamming unsuspecting retirees was even sweeter! Until they found out there was no reward like peace with God.

Born of the same womb, the joy that Donna Janet Gray, Lavern 'Tunky' Gray and Tasheika 'Tishy' Shaw received living the life of pushers, smugglers and fast talkers, remains evident by the number of tattoos etched on their bodies.

But that is all that remains static in their lives, which combine 22 tattoos. "I got no justification from selling drugs, but it was a means to an end," confessed Donna, the eldest of the three sisters and mother of five.

Felt guilty

Donna, who has given up her former lifestyle, has no idea where the next cent is coming from to pay her electricity or water bill, but she is bent on walking the straight and narrow in faith.

"It (the drugs) was mashing up my brothers and sisters and I felt guilty just watching addicts commit robberies and women selling their bodies just so they could get money to make their purchase from me."

The 46-year-old woman, a resident of Catherine Hall in Montego Bay, is one of the many success stories of Sold Out Ministries Street Church. For 15 years, on and off, she plied drugs, satisfying her guilt by repeating the words 'If they don't buy it from me, they will buy from someone else'.

Art of survival

Donna learnt the art of survival growing up in the inner-city Gold Street area in Kingston and William Street 'Gully' in Montego Bay. "I have done just about anything in the book of survival, except prostitution and lesbianism," she said, adding, "I have been jailed for selling crack cocaine and other types of drugs, and if I could talk convincingly, I would have certainly been a scammer."

Lotto-scamming has become a way of life in a number of poverty-stricken communities as money flows into these areas. In many cases, it has had devastating effects on the lives of those who are conned and those who do the scamming. Along its path to destruction, it brings enmity and jealousy, and dealers usually pay a heavy price tag.

Scam master

Donna may not have been a scammer, but her younger sister, Tishy, was a master of the trade before she discovered the peace that comes with Christianity.

"I was a leader in the dance hall. My life was influenced by flashy cars, 'bashy' clothes and a host of gay friends," she told The Sunday Gleaner. She added, "That's how I learnt the art of scamming people of their money."

For over a year, she worked as a scammer, her reason: "At times it was rough, and I saw no other door opening." She admitted that all she knew growing up was how to be a hustler.

"We learnt from each other from a very early age how to hustle," the three women disclosed.

As Tishy and Donna lived a life of shame, disgrace and sin, their sister, Tunky, the last of the three to accept the Lord as her saviour, continued to sell drugs. "I never once thought about the lives I was destroying," she admitted.

Police raids

One thing was for sure. The police knew her lifestyle and raided her house in Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, regularly. "Police tek set pon mi," is how she described it.

Since she has given up her old habits, she said, "Right now, nobody nah get raid a Catherine Hall, because mi change mi life."

The three sisters no longer have any form of income; it is through their faith, which is being tested day after day, that they survive.

They have stopped using illegal light, their water has been disconnected, and one man gave Tunky three weeks within which to go back to her life of sin.

"We have lost a lot of friends in the process, but we have gained Sold Out Ministries, who are now our family," they concurred.

Sold Out Ministries, through its Street Church, took the Church into their homes. It is seeking assistance for these women by way of employment or help for their children.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com