Ivoreen Campbell-Richards, 31, says she got more than bananas from the Victoria Banana Estate in Clarendon and wished it was not shutting down. - Rudolph Brown/Staff Photographer WHEN THE bananas stopped rolling in at the Victoria Banana Co. Ltd in Parnassus, Clarendon yesterday, it was much more than just the loss of another job for many workers.
For 31-year-old Ivoreen Campbell-Richards, her time at the estate was not just about the bananas.
The mother of five had improved on her eighth grade education under a programme offered on the estate for those who wished to further their studies in Mathematics, English Language and Computer Science. The company paid for everything.
"They actually paid us to go to school, because they would give us the time off work to attend the classes here. The only thing we had to find was exercise book, pen and pencil. They pay for everything," she said.
Ivoreen joined the programme with 40 others six months ago and she will be graduating next month. She has not got back the results from the exams she took recently, but yes, she thinks she has passed.
"We don't get the results yet but by Friday we supposed to know," she said with a quaint confidence.
The shutdown of the company is on her mind and she wished it did not have to end this way. "The closing down is really a setback. It did really help and I'm very thankful for it."
The shutdown for Ivoreen, who has worked on the estate for four years, also means no more back-to-school loans, and even though her husband is working, she is sure it is going to be a little stiff. Ivoreen's studies appears to have given her some hope though. Much more than Veronica Powell's has.
Veronica worked side-by-side with Ivoreen in stacking green bananas. Her eyes were slightly red as she worked silently in the heat. "I don't want it to close down. It's the only survival for me right now," she said in a whisper. "I don't know where I'm going to get another job."
The 41-year-old single mom is responsible for five children. The youngest being her five-year-old grandchild. Her 16-year-old daughter Lancia Chambers was killed by her 19-year-old boyfriend Owen George, shortly after their child was born. George later hung himself, so the responsibility of the baby came to her. She hopes something turns up real soon because the bananas are now gone.
