Woman Living in School Bus Faces Eviction

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A woman living in a school bus with several relatives and facing eviction takes Our News inside her home.

The woman has upgraded the bus to make it livable, but there’s no doubt she is still living in poverty. Jared Higgs takes a closer look.

The 30-year-old mother of one is facing eviction and she’s afraid that she’ll be in a worse position, after government officials have promised to help her.

Back in November, the woman bought two school buses for $400 and paid a wrecker to put them on the property where we found her. Before that she and her family lived in a pallet structure.

Starting as just a shell, the bus now includes a fridge, hot plate, solar panels, a generator that runs at night and fireplace outside where hot water is heated. A wooden frame on the outside represents plans to add a bathroom. A parakeet in a cage entertains the children. Meanwhile, fuel for the generator is $25 per day which lasts from about 8pm to 6am.

Our News spoke to the mother of one in the school bus home, just a short while after National Security Minister Wayne Munroe alerted her that she couldn’t stay on the land. The woman works as a space cleaner for $240 per week, so her financial situation is dire.

Her adult sister lives with her but doesn’t work. Her 61-year-old father lives in another school bus not far from her, but he also doesn’t work. Another sister lives in a neighboring trailer.

The woman’s living conditions are difficult in many ways, but she isn’t confident that she is better off relying on the government.

Government has been reviewing the issue of squatters on crown land, with Minister of Public Works Alfred Sears acknowledging that there is a human element to the issue.

Unregulated communities have popped up in Abaco after hurricane Dorian displaced thousands. Many of those displaced residents are from shanty towns that existed on the island pre-storm.

Challenging economic conditions in New Providence have also resulted in people, like this single mother, having to make do with what they have.

Officials from social services tell Our News the woman will be visited by social workers, and alternative accommodations are being looked at.