HELP SOME1 BY KATE VAN DYKE
F
or the past seven years, I have traveled to Riverton City Jamaica, a landfill community outside of Kingston. I return each year to spend time with the incredible friends I’ve made there. The bonds I’ve formed with many of the Jamaicans I met in Riverton are some of my deepest and strongest friendships. I’ve had the privilege of becoming close with Stefan Dezonie, a 28-year-old mother from Riverton. Stefan has always been a role model to me, as she always knew she wanted to impact her community from a young age, despite her own personal circumstances.
KATE VAN DYKE, RIVERTON CITY, JAMAICA
Here is her story.
26
Dezonie grew up in Riverton City, of which around 12,000 people reside. As a young girl, she was inspired to start her own organization, so when she was nine, the seed for her organization, Help Some1, was planted. Dezonie’s inspiration came from her mother, Claudette Hoilett. Hoilett’s mother died of cancer when she was 12 years old, so she was forced to take care of herself. Dezonie recounted that her mother was scorned and abused in school because she could not afford lunch or to pay school fees. “I wouldn’t want that for anyone else,” Dezonie explained.
SOUVENIRS
