Albouystown teen trades bat and ball for shovel and fork

Shamal Nurse, known as ‘Farmer Nurse.’

Shamal Nurse is a delight to his parents and three little sisters in the home. Perhaps it’s his uniqueness as an individual that captures their attention and affection. After all, how many 16-year-olds you know who would put aside the ball and bad for shovel and fork?

Already nicknamed ‘Farmer Nurse’, Shamal grew up in Sophia, but now lives at Sussex Street, Albouystown where he created his own little kitchen garden. Having always had a thing for planting, Shamal has been utilizing the space around his house since the quarantine period started in March.

A ‘bed’ of thick-leaf callaloo in the garden.

Cutlass in hand and geared up with his long boots, Shamal showed us around his garden, being careful to explain the names of each plant and the benefits of each one. He planted such things as corilla, tomatoes, ochroes, pigeon peas, garlic, sweet pepper, lemon, pumpkin, and a host of other vegetables and interesting ‘bushes’.

A former student of Cummings Lodge Secondary, Shamal loves farming but finds more joy in the ability to ‘pick and eat”, he finds it interesting.

Shamal explaining the benefits of his garlic plant.

“I love farming…when you plant it is amazing; the forking up and plowing. It’s amazing that you can pick and eat what you plant. I learnt farming in school while doing agriculture and I thought to myself it’s a good thing to do. I wanted to see how things grow, plus I can make some money too,” Shamal expressed.

Every Sunday morning, Shamal makes his list and goes off to the Albouystown Market by himself to shop for his family. His mom, Faye Warde, told us that because she is unwell, she doesn’t really frequent the market. Her son, of course, makes a success of each trip.

“As soon as you finish eating something, he’s gone with the seeds,” Shamal’s dad, Dale Seymore related, adding, “If he goes to the market and sees anything that he can bring home to plant, he does that.”

Shamal is hoping that someday, the government may grant him a plot of land so that he can transplant what he has planted so far, and be able to expand his farming.

“He does a good job with his farming. He does a lot of things around the house that we would otherwise have to do ourselves. We don’t have to tell him to do certain things; he knows his chores. I noticed that he would go in the garden two times a day – morning and afternoons – to water the plants,” a proud Mr. Seymore related.

But he is not the only one who is proud. Shamal’s mom is grateful that her son is using his time wisely instead of choosing to go down a negative path.

Shamal’s tomatoes will soon be ready for harvesting.

“I feel very proud because nowadays, you don’t find much 16-year-olds doing what he’s doing. It helps him to be off the streets, to stop liming on the roads, keeps him out of trouble, crime and so forth,” she expressed, adding, “I know he is going to come out as a good individual, a useful member in society and he’s going to make me feel more proud in the future.”

Commenting on Albouystown, which has often been dubbed a high-crime area, Warde said it is a common sight for youths to gang up and lime on the streets, and to follow their friends.

“In order to keep children occupied and out of harm’s way, we have to find positive things that they can do to help themselves. Farming also gives us food, and who knows, we may be able to bring in an income from it in the future,” the boy’s mother continued.

She is hoping that other children may be able to learn from her son and utilize their time wisely. “Use your time wisely and try to help out in some way at home, she advised. “You’ll reap the benefits in the long run. It doesn’t have to start big; you can start small and expand as time goes by.”