Help Janelle's Children Thrive in Barbados

Heavenly Case Assignment to One of the Least of Them (Matthew 25:40)

Hello, my name is Wanda Deane, and I live in Barbados. I am a retired midwife and hospital administrator, and my husband, David, is a retired hospital administrator from Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. We are both in our 70s and live off our retirement incomes. After David’s retirement, we moved back home to Barbados.

Dora Dixie is like a sister to me and has asked me to write this appeal letter. Please read it completely and see if you feel impressed to help in this situation.

I first met Janelle during the Covid lockdown period in 2020. She was a 25-year-old mother of 7 children, aged 7, 6, 3, 1 1/2 years old, and newborn triplets. Janelle lived in poverty with the father of the 5 youngest children (all girls), and when the triplets were 2 years old, the children’s father abandoned them. She and her 7 children moved into a 3-bedroom house with her father, her sister, and the sister’s three older children.

Now 13 people live in a three-bedroom rented house that is deplorable with rotted flooring and sideboards, broken windows, and poor plumbing. All 7 of the children bathe in the same water, and they share one toothbrush. The sewage water often fills the bathroom, and the children must wade through wastewater to reach the toilet. All the children frequently miss weeks at school due to respiratory illnesses. They were all recently diagnosed with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease.

I have a burden on my heart for this family, and I do not want to see the children separated from each other. David, my husband, and I help as much as our budget will allow, and I have enlisted church members to help as well. Most of us natives in Barbados are not wealthy, and they do what they can and what they will. Neighbors and church members have donated clothing, food, a washer, bed linen, dinnerware, personal hygiene items, and cleaning supplies.

My husband and I have taken the youngest 5 of the 7 children into our home to give Janelle a break from constant childcare responsibilities so she can get a job and better housing for her family. We did not want to see the children in stranger-foster care. They need a safe and loving environment. The 7-year-old has dyslexia that requires weekly attendance in special education, and the triplets were born prematurely and have some developmental delay. We took in the 8-year-old because she was depressed and cried all the time for her 7-year-old sister.

David and I are asking the global village, because it takes a village to raise a child, to help us financially with our 5 engrafted grandchildren: Janica, 8; Jinora, 7; Jadzhia, Jakayla, Jakeyla, 5.

Basic Monetary Cost of Caring for 5 “grandchildren”

$1 in US money is $1.98 in Barbadian money.

The cost of living in Barbados is generally higher than that of the USA. According to Numbeo, the cost of living in Barbados is 10.11% higher than in the UK and 27.75% higher than in the USA. This means that it is more expensive to live in Barbados than in either of these countries.

1. School Fees/Trimester: $425 USD per child times 5 is $2125

2. Weekly dyslexic session: $22.50 USD

3. School Uniforms/Annually: $1,500 USD (approximately)

4. Books & supplies/Annually: $750 USD (approximately)

5. Transportation/monthly: $400 USD (approximately)

6. Food and toiletries/monthly: $1,400 USD (approximately) 90% of the food sold in Barbados is imported so it is expensive.

Matt 25: 35-40 “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Thanks for joining this faith venture which promises a very good yield: kingdom inheritance!

Wanda G. Deane

Zelle: [email redacted]

209 Frere Pilgrim

Christ Church, Barbados