Cecelia Isaac is not pleading for food, groceries or handouts.
All the 45-year-old mother wants is for someone in authority to visit where she lives in Sea Lots and clear thousands of plastic bottles and debris which have been posing a health hazard to her and members of her family.
"This is more than filth," she said.
She said all her pleas have fallen on deaf ears over the years.
Isaac's house is mere metres away from the sea where young children go to play. The water is black and murky and is littered with thousands of plastic bottles that have washed up on the edge from nearby rivers.
She said, "We accustomed spending Christmas in this mess. This is not the first time, it is years now."
Frustration showed on her face when the T&T Guardian visited her at her Production Drive home. With the appearance of a labyrinth, the narrow pathway to her house paved the way to the sea. Inside of Isaac's house was bare. Her stove was almost rusty and the ply board around the structure was rotted. The watermarks from the high tides were clear. Her refrigerator served as a storage for her paper documents.
A few weeks ago, she was awakened by high waters and debris inside of her house. She and her children ran for safety in a bathroom. There, they slept on a mattress.
"That morning I had nothing, no food, nothing, and I was frustrated," she said.
She said she visited the Ministry of Social Development to apply for assistance and told the representatives there that it made no sense giving her food (food card) "because I have no place to cook it."
Through the kindness of her neighbours, she would get food on evenings. However, she collected wood to make a fireside and would roast "sapatay" (type of fish) which she got from the nearby jetty.
Isaac said, "By the grace of God we eat, but we need some assistance here."
She labelled herself as "a hustler," saying she survived by collecting glass bottles and would make up to $500 a week. She also receives a government grant of $1,150.
She has 12 children, four of whom live with her. Isaac called on the relevant officials in Government "to come and see."
'I just need help'
Isaac said, "Real people in office know me but they never come. Seeing is believing."
Most of her earnings in the past have been used to block off the water and debris from entering the property. Using cement, clay blocks and any material she could find, Isaac worked tirelessly to cordon off the area but with little success. She even fell ill doing so and was hospitalised.
"I am just asking for assistance to clean this," as she pointed to the sea.
She said while she could not prevent people from dumping rubbish, she did her small part by "toting it outside".
The empty space in front of her house, she said, was littered with trash but over time, she did what she could "to maintain it".
Boldly showing her PNM party card, Isaac said she has been a member since 2005 and criticised the Government saying, "We voting because we is a PNM but we not getting the assistance from the PNM. We will get support when they come and drop the jersey. Baby have on jersey, this one have on jersey, but then nobody come to say well you support me and let me see how to help."
She said although she has been living in such deplorable conditions for years, she continues to support the PNM.
"I don't want to ask for plenty, just for someone to come and clean this place and put some proper drainage."
Several calls to MP for Port-of-Spain South Marlene McDonald's phone went unanswered.