When 2020 rolled around, many people around the world were filled with optimism, Bahamians among them.
Jayde Knowles hoped to begin another business venture. Deidre Miller hoped to get a higher paying job, so that she could afford to buy a car.
Many people likely thought 2020 would be their year.
But by March, they found themselves without a steady income and agonizing over how they would keep their heads above water or food on the table.
Like countless others, they faced a future that was uncertain.
The pandemic torpedoed the Bahamian economy, toppling businesses and sending thousands to the unemployment line.
People teetering just above the poverty line found themselves falling helplessly into destitution. However, some also thrived, finding creative ways to survive during a pandemic that would catapult the country into the worst health and economic crisis in modern history.
Miller, 44, who was living paycheck to paycheck before her job was made redundant at the start of the pandemic, said things have gotten considerably worse.
With a stack of unpaid bills hanging over her family’s head and her electricity supply disconnected due to lack of payment, she said, “I never, ever thought things would have gotten this bad for me.”
Ten months after she lost her job, Miller, a mother of two adults, is hoping to get back on her feet.
“In a situation like this, your parents always tell you to put a little funds aside just in case,” she said. “But, I was just making minimum wage … so, it was like when the money hit my hands, it [was gone].”
Miller continued, “…I do a little babysitting to try and put a couple dollars in my pocket. It’s hard knowing the fact that my children are in a position that they need help, but I am not in a position to help them.”
Miller, who lost her parents, brother and niece in the last three years, said she has few people to call on for help and now depends on the government’s National Food Distribution Task Force for food.
The prime minister announced the creation of the task force early in the pandemic and charged it with feeding the most vulnerable people.
Crowds have swarmed distribution sites waiting for hours on food vouchers and packages.
More than 55,000 households across The Bahamas registered for assistance in phase one, which was June through September.
During this phase, a combined $18.82 million was spent on the program with the government bearing 85 percent of the cost and NGOs contributing the remainder, the task force noted previously.
Now into phase two, the program is continuing into the first quarter of 2021, as the demand for food remains high.
This was evidenced by the long lines at recent giveaways by Island Luck, the Fox Foundation and other groups. People began lining up many hours before the giveaways even started.
There was a similar situation at the national stadium during an unemployment check distribution exercise by the National Insurance Board (NIB).
Miller said she was among the crowds of people looking for financial assistance.
Still, she said, others have it worse and she remains thankful.
Terrance Hutchinson, who is unable to work because of health challenges, said he has resorted to begging and picking up garbage to make ends meet.
Hutchinson, a resident of Montell Heights, said he is seeking to qualify for disability benefits with NIB.
“[I’ve been] begging, working by moving a little bit of garbage and ting,” he said when asked how he has been surviving.
“…My wife does a little bit of work to the gas station. Otherwise, ain’t nothing else because I can’t work.”
Many individuals across The Bahamas have been struggling to make ends meet since March.
Jayde Knowles, owner of KrownMi dyaj Haircare, said with 2020 awash, she’s now looking to 2021 to fully launch her haircare company.
“Because of COVID-19, I was able to get my business off the ground, a new business while being safe (stuck) at home,” said Knowles, a mother of one.
“The line of business I was in prior, allowed me to work major events, but with no events happening, I had to come up with a plan B to sustain myself and my home.
“The business, of course, cost me money before it brought in anything, so it was still a struggle. It was hard to keep up with demand when I wasn’t financially in the position to supply.
“As a single mother with a mortgage, bills and a child in private school now doing virtual schooling, things became extremely difficult financially very quickly.
“With her being home, more lights were on, more food was consumed and more everything else being doubly used. I had to look to friends and family for assistance just to survive.”
Knowles said she also had to secure help to access food for her small family.
“I signed up for the Hands for Hunger food assistance, which provided groceries weekly and that helped me and my household extremely,” she said. “And when I felt we could go without, I shared with other neighboring families who could have used the assistance as well.”
Over the course of the pandemic, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis ordered the closure of non-essential businesses, implemented a national curfew and imposed weekend lockdowns.
The sporadic restrictions forced some businesses to close permanently. Major hotels and other tourism-based businesses shuttered for months on end.
The stagnation of the Bahamian economy has led officials to estimate a national unemployment rate of more than 40 percent.
Now, as 2021 dawns, many Bahamians are praying for a better year, one in which economic healing occurs.
The post A year that forced thousands to the breadlines appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/a-year-that-forced-thousands-to-the-breadlines/
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