‘Charlie’ Brown serving Ewarton for four decades

In Daniel 'Charlie' Brown's shop in Ewarton Square, St Catherine, you can buy everything, from sweet corn to USB cables.

But what's now a fixture in the square started off as a handcart 43 years ago.

"Mi just mek a likkle cart and dem (goods) sell of, and after dem sell off now, mi buy some sugar, mek some coconut cake, and sell it; it kinda gwaan. Dem mi start to sell iced drinks," he said

As business boomed, Brown decided to put up a board structure. But it was plagued by thieves.

"Dem bruk it 'bout 26 times, 'til mi decide fi put up a concrete structure," he said

That structure is what's still standing and serving the people of Ewarton today. And Brown is proud of the progress of his business.

"Mi have the strength that mi believe mi cudda go somewhere, and mi believe better would really come. And this send mi kids dem to school, and all a dem alright; mi have six children, but one died," he said

But lately he told THE WEEKEND STAR that he's been facing stiff competition from Chinese-owned businesses.

"Things kinda get slow, things nuh so bright like first. Since the Chinese dem come in, the business nah run like how it use to run. You use to have a whole heap a salesman weh wudda come in, and wudda sell yuh things. Well now, yuh nuh have dem man deh pan di road no more; most of them come off because the things dem weh dem a sell, the Chinese dem a sell it cheaper," he said

But Brown has no intention of giving up his business, especially since he said it's just one of the ways he serves his community.

" I got like a plaque of recognition from the community club. Me is a community man; mi have the key fi di church, the basic school, and the community club. Sometime di amount a money weh people carry come gi mi fi give somebody, mi neva have dem deh kinda money fi myself inna my possession yet, and nobody neva seh dem lost a penny," he said.