IN the small farming community of New Forest, Manchester, is a ray of hope in the form of a new foundation.

Hope for the Hopeless, which started in January this year with 12 members, all from the community, has helped four people so far by donating basic necessities, money, and fixing property.

Sophia Morgan, the owner of Sophia’s Restaurant and Groceries, started the foundation after she and her father Errol Morgan visited an elderly man in the community who lived alone in an unfinished one-room house with no electricity, water, nor bathroom.

“I learnt of his situation and just decided to pay him a visit. I was supposed to get a doctor to do a home visit. He said he was going to come but he didn’t, so that part was out of it. Me and my dad decided to visit him, and a friend of mine, Michelle, asked to join. I said ‘No problem’ — the more, the merrier,” she said with a smile.

Her face displaying happiness, Morgan listed the people who joined the visit and took food and other supplies to the senior citizen. The visit evoked a sense of selflessness in them that planted the seed for the foundation to grow.

“Because of the enthusiasm of what we did there everybody was like, ‘You know we can do more of this and make a difference,’ and so we decided we needed a name. We came up with a few names but Hope for the Hopeless stuck,” she said.

Bryon Lewis spent his last days being cared for by members of the foundation. He died in late January at 80 years old due to a ruptured artery. Where Lewis was originally from was unclear.

“He travelled from St Thomas and never returned. The man he travelled here with said he’s not from St Thomas either,” said Morgan.

Lewis had no family in the community, therefore the group of 11 women and one man took responsibility for the burial — from grave digging, carrying buckets of cement, to trading in their heels for flats to carry the coffin.

Morgan got emotional when asked to say how she feels when visiting people the foundation has helped.

“No one should be living in those conditions. Not even my enemy I don’t want to see like that; and they show you so much love for helping them! The feedback has been amazing,” she said, tears in her eyes.

Asked about other initiatives in which she is engaged, Morgan straightened her posture, leaned back in her chair inside the restaurant, then started talking about a project that has benefited the community for more than 10 years.

“I also do an annual back-to-school treat every summer. Students get books, tablets, haircuts, and hairstyles, etc. Most of these members [of the foundation] are in that,” she said.

Her cousin, Olivia Lewis-Johnson who is also a member of Hope for the Hopeless, joined the conversation.

“This is something I always, always love to do — for kids or the elderly. The elderly always reach out for assistance too, even before we had this foundation. Parents ask for assistance too,” Lewis-Johnson said.

Since news of the foundation spread more people have voiced their desire to join.

“I have a list,” Lewis-Johnson said, her arms outstretched to demonstrate the number of people interested. “It’s not like you can even choose five because you have a person who wants to join because of the love for it and people who can contribute a lot to it, so how do you choose?”

All the members of the foundation are business owners with busy schedules. Despite this, they find the time to work together by setting dates in their WhatsApp group. So far there has not been a day when all 12 members are able to go into the field to execute a project together, but the job still gets done.

The foundation has received numerous donations and positive feedback from residents; people in neighbouring communities in Manchester and St Elizabeth such as Plowden, Alligator Pond, Comma Pen, and Bull Savanna; as well as people living abroad.

The cousins credited their parents and the fact that they grew up in a farming community where helping each other is the norm, for their philanthropic spirit. Lewis-Johnson praised her mother while Morgan praised her father and her faith in God.

“The way we grow, in the community we grow, it was all about helping from when we were small. My mother used to save a lot of people. Pastor Lewis was there for everybody so you grow up with that little tender, soft heart from early,” said Lewis-Johnson.

Added Morgan: “And we grow up in church. I am a believer of the word of God. One scripture that resonates with me is, ‘Who that is kind to the poor lends to God and he will repay.’ “

As the conversation continued more members of the foundation entered the restaurant. Michelle Johnson-Weathers who works at the restaurant, Sophia’s younger sister Jennifer Morgan, and their father Errol sat down to talk.

“From longer time I am a man that always look out for elders,” Errol Morgan said, adding that he did not hesitate when Sophia told him she wanted to visit the elderly man.

“I went, and it was great; it was a great pleasure doing it. I love it; I always love to help. That’s what I do for my community because we are one people,” he said, eliciting nods of agreement from Jennifer and Michelle.

Recently the group travelled to Westmoreland to make a donation to a young woman who needed surgery to remove a non-cancerous bleeding cyst from her mouth.

Other recipients are an elderly man and woman, both from New Forest, who live in old houses that were in urgent need of repair.

Morgan and Lewis-Johnson said they plan to register the foundation as a non-profit organisation and create social media platforms for it. They are asking anyone who wants to contact them to call or send a text to 876-806-7941.

As for their future plans, Morgan said, “The aim is to help as many people as we can, however we can.”