FARM PEN, Savanna-la-Mar — The fourth of six children, David Hibbert’s mother was told to desert him at the hospital because he was born with his hands and feet deformed.

But, despite being in and out of hospital with various ailments as he grew up, his mother did not give up on her son.

Today Hibbert, who moves around on a tricycle, is one of his mother’s main providers and a jack of all trades.

A disc jock, deejay, and sound system operator who goes by the stage name King David, Hibbert has mastered several skills over the years. In fact, he is also a certified tiler, an livestock farmer, and a butcher.

Born with both hands and feet deformed, Hibbert has never harboured the thought of relying on others for his survival.

“You see some people, they look down on themselves,” Hibbert shared with the Jamaica Observer. “They say, ‘Bwoy, because I have a disability mi cyaah do this [or] mi cyaah do that.’ No man, nuh mek disability stop you. You must be above that.

“I am a artiste, mi is a farmer, I’m a sound man,” the 34-year-old told the Sunday Observer.

His passion for music — his first love — saw him migrating to Kingston. He eventually returned to Westmoreland after being away for almost 10 years.

With a need to fund his music, Hibbert received assistance from an overseas sponsor to start livestock farming. He started with chicken rearing and expanded to other animals, including rabbits, pigs and goats.

But, he has had some setbacks.

“The other day I wasn’t here and someone come and pull mi gate and mek mi big rammy go outta road and car kill him,” Hibbert explained. “Mi nuh know a who. Until now, mi cyaah tell you a who.

“Mi nuh get nutten outta it and mi goat just dead so, and mi goat value how much money. A just so it guh,” he said.

A familiar face on Farm Pen Road, Hibbert can be seen each day tending to his animals as they graze on open lots. He tries his best to manoeuvre them through the off-road shortcuts, to avoid impeding traffic flow and causing harm to the goats or motorists.

His mother, Cherrian “Miss Cherry” Watson smiled proudly as she thought about her son.

“If him mek it in life I’m sure I will be alright, too,” she told the Sunday Observer, adding, “because him nuh leave mi.”

The mother of six, one of whom was killed a few years ago, Watson is recovering from health issues which have retired her from her usual vending job. As a result, she now relies on her children for support.

Hibbert lives next door to his mother and ensures that he shares whatever he has with her.

“Him try and do him thing,” Watson said. “Him mek mi proud! Him try inna any way fi make mi feel good. If him have one box food, him carry it come and share it with me.”

Hibbert, a father of three children, has big plans to build a better house so that his children can be with him.

With 20 goats in his herd, it is Hibbert’s 2025 plan to become a registered farmer in order to expand his farm and get other breeds which are valued more on the market.

David Hibbert is seen on his farm in Westmoreland. (Rosalee Wood Condell)

A jack of many trades, David Hibbert poses with one of his goats. (Rosalee Wood Condell)

David Hibbert and his mother Cherrian Watson are all smiles. (Rosalee Wood Condell)