IF it was only for the meagre salary that he receives fortnightly, Joseph Bolt would have given up a long time ago.

But it is his love for children which has motivated him for the past 15 years to serve them so graciously.

Bolt, affectionately called Uncle Fen, works as a traffic warden at Top Road, Brown’s Town in the vicinity of the Brown’s Town Primary, Brown’s Town High and York Castle High schools.

He helps hundreds of students from these and other institutions to cross the busy thoroughfare daily. Although a pedestrian crossing is present, many motorists ignore its significance; sometimes they even ignore Bolt and so he has to be alert in protecting the lives of the children.

The father of 11 said he started as a traffic warden out of mere concern for the safety of the children attending schools in the area. Bolt, who worked before as a taxi operator, said that as a regular user of that thoroughfare, he became concerned about the safety of the children attending schools in the area and so decided to take on the new job.

“Through mi see what a happen to them mi stop run taxi and come cross them…mi a drive the car and mi a say look how the children out fi dead, mek mi give up this driving and tek care of them,” he said.

Bolt said that when a friend told him the job was available, he applied for it and was employed.

Over the years, Bolt said he enjoys his job seeing to the safety of the children. However, he laments that the financial reward is small. According to him, he takes home a meagre $6,000 fortnightly.

“This work you will deh here and get old and can’t buy sugar and when you get pay, it can’t even go supermarket,” he said.

Bolt said he is expected to work for an hour-and-a-half in the mornings and to again return in the afternoon for a similar time period. However, he pointed out that he at most times works for two hours in the morning from 7 o’clock to 9 o’clock because students are still going to school after the expected 8:30 am finishing time.

After he ends at 9:00 he returns at 2:00 pm. This makes it difficult for him to take on another job, Bolt said.

“One day I went to Kingston and I have to drive like crazy to reach back in time,” he explained.

He is concerned that many may not be motivated to take over after him because the salary is small and there is difficulty to have another job while working as a warden.

Bolt describes his job as very important — and a risky one because in spite of the pedestrian crossing, some motorists still refuse to stop.

“If you no stop dem, dem nah stop and all when you stop dem, you still have to be watching,” he said.

Additionally, Bolt has to be alert in guiding the young children across the roads. When bubbly students would want to run across the streets, he has to tell them to wait until he gets the traffic to come to a complete halt.

Sometimes he also has to take on that role of the responsible adult to get idle children to hurry along to school.

Although the monetary reward is not satisfying, Bolt said he is happy to be protecting the lives of the children.

“The only strike me strike is on Saturday and Sunday when school is out,” he said.