#20 (By Roger)
The local economy of Hopkins...this is a small shore town just south of Dangriga and it seems that many people here are doing okay. ..that is ...they eat, have decent clothing, send kids to school, even some paint their houses. We have seen many people working various jobs: security, waitress, bus drivers, bicycle rental & repair, banana delivery man, clerks, weavers, wood carvers, fishermen, librarians, teachers, house/hotel cleaners. There are also many cooks...some in restaurants but many on the street preparing meatpies, conch fritters, buns, panades, pastries and even choc-coconut pies and then they send their kids around on their old bicycles carrying 5 gal pails filled with these items their mamas have prepared for them to sell. It's good to see them helping their families. We have also met children who immediately ask us for a shilling or dollar. It is hard to say no to them as they are usually preschool age, cute and often appear to be needy...and beside a dollar is not much to us. But that child will grow up and in a few years, I think, s/he will be asking for more than a dollar...and thinking why work if it isn't necessary? It seems that a natural progression might turn that cute little kid into an adolescent to be savvy enough to know when and where to demand money from tourists...or others in their town. I believe we, tourist, need to encourage the kids who are helping their families and at the same time, discourage those who are begging.
