Hi neighbour! Hope things are improving. When we last spoke, you were very depressed. Your family members were not rallying around you as they should, especially now that you're on your face. Never mind, though. Keep fighting and pray that the good Lord will give you the wherewithal to bounce back.

Remember to keep me in the loop.

Oh, I must tell you that I met an elderly lady the other day who was wallowing in regret. She made bad choices in her heyday and was now paying for them.

If she could just get another chance at life she certainly would have made choices that would have placed her at a better place today. Can't we all testify to that? We make costly mistakes for which we sometimes spend the rest of our lives paying dearly.

In trying to comfort her, I told her that it made very little sense sitting and moping over spilt milk. Having blundered, we must pick up the pieces and move on. That's what they told us when we were little and it is still true. We've also heard that "whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap". Sometimes when life deals us a hard knock we need to step back and take stock. We may discover that we are often the main contri-butor to our persistent predicament.

I really don't want to pour salt on your wound, but have you ever stopped to think that your present state of neglect and abandonment could be linked to decisions you made in your glory days? You may hate me for this, but I understand that you were not so kind to others. You exuded stinginess and selfishness. Your sister said that you baulked at the idea of helping your very niece who had no shoes to attend school while you splurged with the girls in the community.

Problems

Your stance was that you worked hard for your money and you had no intention of spending it on other people's problems. Miss Myrtle, your aunty, said that one day she was on her way from the post office during a downpour of rain and you passed her in your big limousine with a young lady beside you.

It was the fact that the young lady was very rude to your mother a day or two before that hurt her more than anything else.

It's very unfortunate that you thought that you could've contributed so much to the discomfort of your loved ones without a payday! I know that you are now on your face and, like I said, I wish you a speedy financial recovery as you learn a valuable lesson.

Meanwhile, don't be too hard on those who are hard to you at this time. See the link between your present condition and your youthful decisions. Instruct the younger folk not to make the mistakes you made because as night follows day we reap the seeds we sow whether we want to or not.

Here's a little story you could share with them: Veronica's mother was very poor, and you know the antecedents of poverty: people have very little to eat, children cannot go to school - no uniforms, books, lunch money nor bus fares. Little Ver, as she was affectionately called, was doomed to failure. A Good Samaritan stepped in and rescued her. Until this day others, along with herself, are still benefiting from the effects of the kindness meted out to her.

Having graduated from high school and university and now working, she has committed herself to a life of neighbourliness. Every month she gives to a charity so that a child can go to school, a poor mother can prepare a meal and an elderly citizen can be cared for, etc.

This lifestyle has brought a tremendous amount of blessings to her life. In this time of severe economic hardship she has no problem balancing her budget. It's like clockwork: the more she gives to the needy it's the more her funds stretch to meet all her demands. Out of the little that you have I urge you to start giving to someone you consider less fortunate than yourself. This will lead to a speedy financial recovery. Keep me posted.

Remember: If you live to give you will never get tired of living.

Have a great 'neighbourday'.

Hello Mi Neighbour is written by social advocate Silton Townsend, better known for his role as Maas Gussie in the Jamaican comedy, 'Lime Tree Lane'.

Thanks to mi neighbours

Many thanks to the following neighbours who extended themselves to help their neighbours last week.

1. Avis, St Andrew, for offering a commode to any neighbour in need.

2. Ms Henry, also of St Andrew, for clothing and shoes.

3. Verona, St Andrew, for assisting Sash, St Catherine, with shoes, clothing and a chair.

4. Ms Myrie, for giving a pair of size six boy's shoes for church.

5. Mr Taylor, St Catherine, for giving a 3-piece settee to a neighbour in need.

6. Marcia, for offering to assist Angella, St Catherine, who was burnt out (Marcia, please contact our office).

7. Veronica, St Andrew, for your donation to the Hello Neighbour programme.

8. Mr Beckford, St James, for offering to assist Myrtle, Hazel, Sophia and Miss Chamberlain.

9. Mark, St Catherine, for contribution to Hello Neighbour.

10. Mrs Anglin, for offering a domestic job to someone in need.

Here are opportunities to help neighbours

1. Violet, St Thomas, has a damaged spine and is unable to walk. She is asking neighbour for a double mattress and food items for an 11-year-old girl.

2. Louise, St Andrew, an elderly lady, is asking neighbours to assist with a second-hand stove with an oven to do a little baking for a living. She is also in need of a mattress.

3. Papine Police Station, St Andrew: Certificate bearing the name Shemeika Francis found in Papine. May be collected at the Papine Police Station.

4. Tracey, St Catherine, mother died leaving two teenage daughters, 14 and 17. No father around to help. Reaching out for neighbours' help.

5. A neighbour's husband is ill and unable to help his family. Asking neighbours for second-hand furniture.

6. Husband has brain disease and is unable to work. Asking for an igloo to help with a little juice business. Wants to provide for their small children.

7. Ingrid, St Catherine, mother of three, needs a mattress for children.

8. Louise, St Andrew, an 83-year-old neighbour living alone. She needs a mattress and a stove.

9. Sonia, St Catherine, an unemployed mother of five, seeks neighbours' to help start a little self-help business - soap polish, etc.

10. Twenty-one-year-old Clarendon neighbour with a child was thrown out of house by stepmother after death of father. She seeks a family.

11. Joy, St Ann, unemployed mother of two, asks neighbours for a sewing machine to help generate an income. Her children's father died.

12. Got burnt out, asking neighbours for extra large clothing for church.

13. Neighbour, St Andrew, mature student just completed her self-financed degree and is desperately in need of neighbours' help with temporary accommodation. Willing to be part of an understanding family.

To help, please call 906-3167, 884-3866 or 373-7745 or send email to neighbourtoo@yahoo.com and we will make the link up. Those who desire to make financial donations to this project may make deposits to Acct# 351 044 276 at the National Commercial Bank. Bank routing information: JNCBJMKX.

'See the link between your present condition and your youthful decisions.'