Good day to you. I am writing on behalf of a friend who cannot read or write. Because of this, he has been going through some rough times. He is 51 and used to be a jerk vendor. For years, he lived on a piece of land given to him because of the goodness of his father, who used to take care of the owner. He had a little room on top of a shop for years. Soon after, he met a woman, who was bedridden because of a foot condition. He fell in love with the woman who had two children for another man. He took the woman home and cared for her until her foot got better. They lived together for four years and, during that time, he was the sole provider because of his shop.

The woman added three sides to the house and he used that to add two rooms to the shop. He later got some used material from a cousin and expanded the shop. He used to do a lot of sales from his vending, and brought home the money which the woman used to purchase things for the home. He became ill one night and the woman allowed him to have time with her, as he was always on the street selling. One morning she began vomiting and told him she was pregnant. He was glad to hear that and went the extra mile to provide for the child.

The woman had a sister, who her man was taking care of. She went and slept with her sister's man and all hell broke loose when it became known that this woman was so low minded as to sleep with her sister's man. The sister later died from AIDS. He took ill and lost a lot of weight. They separated and she took him to court for maintenance. He used to pay the money to a police officer who would give a receipt. She refused to take the money after a time, as he was diagnosed with diabetes and she told the police officer that she did not want any money from a diabetic person.

She took away the child, all the furniture and the pan he used to jerk the chicken and moved to another parish, leaving no address. All his relatives turned against him because of the child. They say the child is Indian and there are no Indians in their family.

After several years of not seeing the child or the mother, her eldest child came to him and begged him to stay at the house. He had nowhere to stay and told him they used to beat him where he was living. He allowed him to sell in the shop. The boy began to gamble the sales money, and he soon discovered that he had fled his home because he was involved in extortion. He asked him to leave, because he did not want men to come and kill him.

The child he thought was his own is a full Indian and he is a black man. Because he told her eldest child to leave, the mother sued him for $150,000. He spent 15 days and nights in jail. He cannot do any hard work because he is diabetic and getting weak. A stranger bailed him from jail. His family is still against him and has insisted that he does a DNA test, which costs US$370. She wants to take away the shop she came and saw him with. All this woman has there are sides of a board house.

Please, help him, if you can, to get the DNA test done. He wants to get justice. He has no help, except for strangers who feel sorry for him. He did not refuse the child, the mother was the one who took him away. He needs help.

G.J., Hanover, Jamaica

Dear G.J.,

What this man needs is a lawyer. He is negro and yet he is purported to have fathered an Indian child. What a mix up! He has to find his own money to do DNA. Why should his relatives harass him about his Indian child? If the jacket fits him, he should also wear the waistcoat.

Concerning the house, if the woman made an addition to the house and they are separated, they should arrive at an amicable solution. I repeat, he needs a lawyer.

Pastor