Old soul, big heart . . . Zion lends a helping hand during COVID-19

Zion Jordan is a small child with a big heart.

At a time when many families are struggling to make ends meet as a result of the harsh impact the COVID-19 pandemic has been having on the economy, Zion is thinking about what he can do to help those in need.

A few weeks ago, the 11-year-old, a Class four student of Belmont Primary School, used some of the money he had been saving for several weeks to replace his destroyed cellular phone, to purchase three chickens which he has since donated.

Zion’s kind gesture did not go unnoticed. He has definitely reaped what he sowed.

Amir’s Chicken Depot donated 50 whole chickens to Zion to give to less fortunate families of his choice.

And to add icing to the cake, after hearing about his gracious act, management of Fushionz Boutique went to Zion’s Pine, St Michael home and gave him that Samsung A20 he had been saving to buy.

“There are some people who don’t have anything at all. Sometimes you got to know to help people because one day you may end up needing help,” he said.

The child who said he was happy about the gifts he received, noted that the only satisfaction he wanted was to be able to help feed a family. But he expressed gratitude to his donors.

Zion is currently in the process of making a list of families who he believes would be deserving of receiving chickens.

And Barbados TODAY was happy to find out that the first person on Zion’s list to receive free chickens from Amir’s Chicken Depot is Cora Eastmond who is caring for two of three grandchildren whose mother Melissa Eastmond died in her sleep several years ago.

The prefect read Cora’s plight which was highlighted in the media. “Help people because it is rewarding,” Zion said.

Zion’s good deed came as no surprise to his mother Nicole Worrell who told Barbados TODAY how it all started.

Worrell said about two weeks ago when she was about to leave home to do some household shopping, Zion asked whether she would be able to do him a little favour.

Zion, who had overheard the older folks in the home discussing that some families must be struggling financially at this time, inquired what would be the cost of three whole chickens.

When his mother told him that the three chickens would cost about $30 to $35 dollars, he responded that he would take $50 out of his savings and give her to purchase them for him to give away to those in need.

“He said: ‘Mummy, I will give you $50 out of the money I have saving to buy the phone and I want to buy three chickens to donate.’ I said who do you want to donate them to? He said, ‘I don’t know but we will find somebody that is in need of them.’

“And he insisted that I bring back the chickens, and that is what I did. He would not have stopped until he got those chickens. We live in the Pine area and you know some people could be very funny so we didn’t want to let it be known that it is from us,” Worrell said.

The family made a call to a local humanitarian who made suggestions about several families in need that would gladly accept the chickens. Zion accompanied the humanitarian to make the delivery to one of the families.

Zion always had a “soft place in his heart” for the elderly, disabled, homeless, and those generally in need, his mother pointed out.

“I would say it is naturally in him. From like five-years-old, he would always say that when he gets old enough, his grandmother is not to go to town and pay her bills because he would do that.

“He would always say he doesn’t know why old people in town by themselves and why somebody doesn’t help them pay their bills and stuff. This is just naturally him, the boy is an old soul,” she said. (AH)