"By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread" is a saying that Herbert Henry takes very seriously.

The cement and gravel-stained bucket in his hand is an obvious sign that he is in the middle of some other endeavour. The Gleaner has caught him during some manual labour on a driveway in the Greendale area. He came to Spanish Town after the "four sevens clashed in 1977" (July 7, 1977).

He resides in nearby Lauriston. He thinks a lack of jobs is a major problem in the capital. But a lack of enthusiasm by some young people to even learn a skill doesn't help.

"If yuh go check roun' deh suh now, all 40 a dem siddung unda one mango tree, nah do nutten!" he said, pointing to the direction he was coming from. "Look pon mi, mi a 64 and still a work."

He also said that some of those same young men will beg him for money after he has worked hard to earn it. In order to alleviate any potential 'ruption', he gives what he can.

He told The Gleaner that some of the persons who call the shots, illegally, also hinder the job-search process. "If yuh a no bad man yuh nuh get no food. But mi is a churchman," he said. That aside, he thinks the elected officials can do more.

Dons hindering progress

"Dem (politicians) a bait up di youths dem, have dem a fight 'gainst dem one a nadda. Dem need fi find work fi di youths fi occupy dem time," he remarked. He said a preoccupation with short-term gains is another trap that he does not get caught into.

"Mi a nuh bait. Hand out cyaah help mi. Yu give me a $500 today and buy two Heineken, but you still hungry," he reasoned. Despite the hardships, he has no intention of leaving Spanish Town.