Disabled dad wants to go back to school

May 31, 2019
Andre Taylor wants to go back to school.
Andre Taylor wants to go back to school.
Andre Taylor said that thieves often target his backyard pig farm.
Andre Taylor said that thieves often target his backyard pig farm.
Andre Taylor turned to pig farming because he was struggling to get a job.
Andre Taylor turned to pig farming because he was struggling to get a job.
Andre Taylor’s right hand stopped growing when he was 12 years old after it was fractured in a crash.
Andre Taylor’s right hand stopped growing when he was 12 years old after it was fractured in a crash.
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Thirty-three-year-old Andre Taylor from Bog Walk, St Catherine, cannot use his right hand.

One summer when he was 12 years old, a car crashed into the bicycle he was riding. This accident caused his right arm to be badly fractured. It stopped growing, and Taylor could no longer use it.

"It was rough. When I went back to school, things wasn't the same. Fi seh yuh deh school wid you two good hand and when you go back, only one functional. And the worst thing is the one that is not functioning is, the one that you used to use," he said.

"It took a real toll on me mentally and physically. It was like all my hopes and dreams just shattered like that. I was really a mess."

But with the support of his family, Taylor completed primary school and moved on to the McGrath High School, where he was even part of the school's football team.

It was after leaving high school and while trying to get a job that the real impact of his disability set in.

"When I drop letter, I receive a call. And then when I went to the interview and they see my arm, they allow me to do the interview and don't call back, several times," he said.

This continued for years, until five years ago, he decided to go into farming to help provide for his nine-year-old son. He operates a pig farm in his backyard, but the lack of a secure market and the threat of praedial larceny have been discouraging.

"I'll be killing one (pig) now, and for the next four to five months, I'll be killing a next one, and they're so hard to feed," he said

"One of the time, mi end up with 17 pigs, but dem teef dem off. So mi end up wid four now. They would take two of the weaners today, next week dem come back for three. True mi nuh have nobody fi help mi watch, persons just come in and teef dem out," he said.

That's why Taylor is looking to get a more marketable skill. However, he doesn't have the money needed to pursue his dream.

"I would go to the HEART Trust/NTA to do computer. I know the basics. But I'm not financially able to cover dat. That's the reason why I'm not doing it this year. But it's something I want to do," he said.

"If there was a nine-to-five so I could maintain my family certain way, I would stop (pig farming). It rough, enuh. For a one hand, it rough."

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