Turning eyesores into beautiful wonders Ex-convict nurtures budding passion in brightening public spaces, The Gleaner April 21, 2022
Five years ago, Raymond Brown’s passion for beautification and flower gardening began to flourish.
Having spent nine years in prison on charges of manslaughter, stemming from a 2005 stabbing incident, the ex-convict has sought to put his energy into being more productive as he is still unable to obtain work due to his criminal record.
“If it wasn’t the mercy a God, I would be doing life sentence, which I know I wouldn’t deserve, so I really appreciate the sense of justice and fairness that I am actually benefiting off a right now inna me freedom,” he said.
The 41-year-old told The Gleaner on Wednesday that he has had to deal with the emotional trauma of being imprisoned on occasion, battling with anger issues that sometimes overwhelm him given his situation.
Living in deplorable conditions behind the Angels toll plaza on the outskirts of Spanish Town, St Catherine, has also amplified his frustrations as his board and zinc dwelling is not fully enclosed or supplied with electricity or piped water.
But finding a sense of fulfilment in turning woodland, disposal sites, and other condemned lands into “cherry gardens”, Brown said he has found peace and he prides himself on transforming unsightly locations into floral beauties.
“This a something weh me really find myself have a developing passion fa ... . I listened to the voice of the Holy Spirit and convert the whole disposal site and turn it into a cherry garden, and that’s where the actual dream and passion start from,” he said.
Four days ago, Brown began planting bougainvillea and broomweed – a bright yellow-coloured flowering plant – on the playing field outside his alma mater, Linstead Primary School, along East Avenue, which was previously polluted with garbage and suffocated by grass, which he voluntarily cleared.
Brown is also hopeful that by tending to the local churchyard as well, he will attract the attention of the local school to invest in his beautification initiative and contract him for work.
He has completed three beautification projects since he began in 2017, previously operating in the Kingston and St Andrew areas, as well as parts of St Catherine.
He secures the plants using sticks and welded chicken wire mesh that he collects as scraps and waters them using an improvised drip-irrigation system by punching holes into water-filled bottles and placing them at the roots.
Brown, who is also a multiskilled professional with 10 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate subjects and a pending degree in entertainment and cultural enterprise management from The University of the West Indies, is hoping that someone will hire him so that he can earn enough to finish his degree programme.
Brown has also acquired nine certifications in three skill areas: autobody repairs, gas and electrical welding, and agricultural heavy equipment operation.
“Me ambition big, enuh. Me see miself way up deh!” he exclaimed, pleading for a fair chance at life and for society to put more faith in rehabilitated ex-offenders who are now willing to contribute to nation building and earn an honest living to sustain themselves.
He wishes to continue in the field of landscaping and broaden his reach as he continues to brighten various locations across rural and urban Jamaica.
“I really need some employment,” he cried in an appeal to the Government and private sector in hopes that his hard work will be rewarded soon.
Being unable to help support his seven-year-old son has also been a source of anxiety.
“I just really need some help, a ground start, if is even to start a little business, a shop or suh,” he added, hoping that someone will be able to look beyond his criminal record and see his potential, just as he does in turning eyesores into wonders to behold.
If you wish to assist Raymond Brown, you may contact him at 876-519-4400.