by BRYAN WALKER

A "GOOD SAMARITAN" has come forth from heaps of household and business trash that once were destined for the landfill.

Junior Layne, who runs a charitable group called Care Ministries Inc. with his wife Jacqueline and family, is turning waste into welfare for some needy young and elderly people in Barbados.

Set up since January 2004, Care Ministries, which operates from his residence in Waverley Road, Keizer Hill, Christ Church, targets under-privileged children through educational grants, especially at the tertiary level.

The focus is also on home help and home maintenance for the elderly; assisting with their medical expenses; as well as a hot meals programme, fruit and vegetables.

Layne, a former district treasurer with the Wesleyan Holiness Church, said that last year alone they were able to dish out $24 000 in assistance to the two groups. Over the four years of existence, he estimated Care Ministries paid out in excess of $60 000 in charity.

Struggle

While in the initial stages it was a struggle raising funds, Layne and his Christian family never planned to "go about begging for money", but wanted to engage in income-generating activities.

While the company also raises funds by the sale of beauty products, he saw waste as a "unique" way to help out.

"I used to burn PET bottles before, but then I said to myself that if I can take these things and turn them into something [profitable], I can get some money to help some people."

The 54-year-old revealed that between 2004 and the end of last month, they had collected 269 235 in items from household and businesses – comprising plastic and glass products – that would have otherwise been dumped.

He collects from the Royal Bank of Canada, FirstCaribbean Bank, as well as households in Christ Church, St Philip, St Thomas and St Michael, "and wherever else the calls come".

For more than two years, one affluent district in St Michael has been working with Care Ministries to help the cause.

Every last Saturday, residents of Fort George Heights bring down their bundles and bags of bottles near the entrance of the development for Layne to collect. He loads them into his car, then heads off to waste broker B's Bottle Depot in Cane Garden, St Thomas.

"One guy told me last Saturday he was glad I wasn't on strike," Layne quipped, a reference to last week's industrial action by Sanitation Service Authority workers.

But Layne doesn't plan to stop there. He is hoping shortly to have a similar set-up in Sunset Crest, St James, which would provide an even bigger market than Fort George.

And there are plans to expand in St Philip too.

Layne said while he was not benefiting financially from the venture, he was doing it "from my heart" to help others – as well as the environment.

"It feels good that not only are you looking to help others, but that you are protecting the environment. That is one of the key areas we are focusing on."

At the same time, he wants Barbadians to be more conscious of not only being their brother's keeper, but also protecting their environment, "so we can save ourselves problems down the road".

* If you want to Trash Talk, write to Trash Talk, c/o Nation Publishing Co Ltd, Fontabelle, St Michael; or email bryanwalker@ nationnews.com