MARIE Bennett, 57, is a jovial all-rounder, but beyond her larger-than-life personality lies a story of strength and pain.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer Bennett chronicled her life as a former area coordinator in the Waltham Park community, where her love for philanthropy blossomed.

“I will go out and beg food items, pick up package[s] and share it amongst the needy people in the area. As an area coordinator I would get a lot of things, and I share it with the young, middle-aged — everybody – those with disabilities, teenage moms. If there is roadwork to be done, drain cleaning and so forth, I ensure it split up and everybody get something. I even put down some for the old people in the area,” Bennett said.

In addition, Bennett’s influence in the community is so great that when young men give trouble, she told the Sunday Observer that police would often turn to her to set them straight.

“If boys in the community giving problems they will come to me and I go and talk to the boys, and they stop and behave themselves. Once the police say ‘Your boy getting on bad,’ and I ask who is it and they give me an alias name, I call them and they sit down and drink and I tell them they need to behave themselves. I will use the opportunity to remind them that they have a baby on the way and ask them if they don’t want to see their baby. The police know once I talk to them they will behave themselves,” she said.

In addition, Bennett also said she has prevented violence in the area as men on the ground would inform her of plans of war and once she liaisons with the former MP, the area would be saturated with the security forces. She, however, admitted that in recent times she has not been getting along with the current MP who prefers to lead in her own way without listening to the ‘ground’ men.

But despite her influence Bennett has experienced her fair share of pain, losing three of her four sons to gun violence and warring factions within the area.

“My first son, Errol McKenzie, died at 31 Waltham Park Road – Chiney Smith Lane —in 2006 in a case of mistaken identity. A brown youth like him shot a man and when he was coming off the rubbish truck one night, because he worked on a rubbish truck, dem just run in and bam, bam, bam! And he died on the spot. People came on the spot and from talking and talking them start to say is the wrong man,” Bennett said.

Following that incident, Bennett moved to the 19 Miles area off Waltham Park Road where she resettled and began rebuilding her life. But for Bennett it was not a bed of roses as political activism and party affiliation became the subject of attacks on her family.

“I left Chiney Smith Lane and went to 19 Miles and built a little shop at the front at the bus stop. Before my other two sons died both of them helped me build the shop and I got some help from the councillor and MP, as I told them I didn’t feel comfortable as I don’t know who killed my son. While at 19 Miles, the MP called me and told me she was going to pass by as they were heading out of town, so prepare things for them to eat…That was in the Jamaica Labour Party area. They came in their PNP [People’s National Party] ‘ganzy’ [T-shirts]. The MP called the men across the road and said come and drink, and they said we a Labourite. She said it doesn’t matter and she took $16,000 worth of goods and we all drank and enjoy ourselves,” Bennett said. “Three days later I heard the shop burn down. I had things in there and they thief out what they wanted to steal and burn down the shop flat. We were still there at 19 Miles. I had some money, so I bought some children items to sell. Four days after me come home and inside mi house ­– me and my kids — and firebomb throw on the house. In my opinion, because we were PNP we got that damage because it was a stronghold for the JLP.”

This led Bennett to once again gather her things and move. This time she went to Crescent Road, another area off Waltham Park Road, where things seemed to finally be looking up until one of her sons got in the wrong company.

“My son Javon Bennett, otherwise called Andre, he deejay a lot of songs on YouTube. Yes, he had a friend by the name of Scamma. That youth did scamming [but] we knew nothing about it. And he always come for my son and say we going out to buy weed, and my son go with him because they know each other through mutual friends. He was a nice, good youth but we never knew he was a scamma because he never told anyone what he was doing. My son start to par with him and one day they went to town to buy funeral clothes and him never return. The following morning we got a call to hear that dem kill Scamma so from I hear that mi seh Javon dead. Then them say another guy in the car dead as well. They give Scamma six shot and Javon get one in his neck. That was in 2018,” Bennett said.

After that ordeal Bennett said she continued her philanthropic deeds in the Waltham area, helping the needy and ensuring everyone got a slice of the pie when there was infrastructure improvement work to be done.

But, Bennett said in 2019 there were warring factions in the community as “man from top and man from bottom” feuded over control of the area.

“From the ‘dadz’ die dem keep killing people,” Bennett said, while explaining that the dadz is the one in charge of everyone, regardless of party affiliation. “War developed in the community and one morning I heard shots and when I checked it out, it was my other son — Ezra Bennett. I remember police came on the scene and threw him in the van and to show you the respect they have for me, when I said is my son, the officers stopped and say is Marie son — the big woman — ­and they made him sit up in the vehicle. But they never returned,” Bennett said in a remorseful tone.

For Bennett this was the last straw and as a result, she packed her belongings and with husband and her four living children in tow, she relocated to a parish outside of Kingston and St Andrew.

“I move again because I don’t know is who kill him. I said ‘They don’t like me. It couldn’t be anything else. I don’t hurt anybody.’ I said to the police, ‘I don’t know of them being any bad man, but if you hear their name calling then do your duty, but as an area coordinator I don’t know of that.’ I have to move cause I lose my best pickni; I love him so much. He was a humble youth, him no mix up. Javon woulda inna the fren business and over fren yard a smoke ganja — but he [Ezra] doesn’t. I had a special love for that one,” she shared.

Meanwhile, Bennett said she continues giving back to the poor in the Waltham area but where physical presence is concerned, she has no interest.

“From I leave Waltham I don’t go over there, but people called me about the compassionate grant and I gave them information on how to apply, told them how to get disability assistance. I still help young women who get pregnant with being rehabilitated in schools. I have a secretary around there and through her I help people with clothes, food and everything. Christmas time we get donations of teddy bears and food supplies and give out to people. I still have my mind there. If I can get help for them then the things will reach them, but I am not going back that direction,” she said.

She said: “Where I am, I feel at home and well comfortable. I want to continue doing good. My ambition is to work with poor people, so any help I can get to help the elderly, those with disabilities, teenage moms, I would appreciate it. I bathe old people and cut their fingernail, comb their hair and I bury dead. Right now I have a lot of pink paper at my home from burying poor people. I get wheelchair, walking stick for people and I will send it off, but I am not going over there. Anything I get, I just send on.”