Disability in Jamaica

I was born in Jamaica in 1993, and I came to the UK when I was 9 years old. I went to a school in Jamaica called Balcombe Drive, where was no support for disabled students. I used to walk on my hands and knees. I went to a normal school and there was only one classroom for disabled people. Disabled people are not treated well and I will always remember the various troubles I faced in Jamaica.

Since living in the UK, I have always wanted to go back to Jamaica to do a project about the experiences of disabled people living in Jamaica. Part of the problem is the at the Jamaican Government do not have the resources provide proper support to disabled people in Jamaica. Through my work, I want to highlight these social problems to Western audiences who are in a better position to help support these vulnerable people. When people think about Jamaica, they only think about the beautiful hotels and tourist areas on one hand, or the crime rate on the other. They never think about the disabled people who do not have the money or support to survive. Life is difficult and often more expensive for disabled people; for instance, when a person in wheelchair uses a taxi, they have to pay for themselves and their chair. 

The project is based in Cheshire Village, a centre for disabled people that was opened by Sir John Golding in 1953. The Village has 21 different homes, and every resident has a room for themselves. When Golding opened the centre it was initially to aid in the outbreak of polio in Jamaica, but is now open to all disabilities. I met people in Cheshire Village who have been on the ParaOlympic team for over 40 years. But now they are retired, Jamaica has taken away insurance to aid with medical costs. They used to aid with about 50% of medical costs but now they do not provide any financial support and people have to fund all medical costs themselves.

I visited Hope Valley Experimental School. The School is a mixture of disabled and abled students, but they kept both parties separate within the school. It reminded me of my experienced in a mixed school in Jamaica. When I visited the Step Centre School, I photographed the support workers that care for disabled students as well as the students themselves. I felt it was important to represent the often undervalued support workers alongside the children. I remember when I used to go to school, the support workers understood and helped more than the teachers.