I’m Evon Tomlin and I’m from Manchester, Jamaica. I’ve been coming to Canada since 1990. The reason I am here is to help take care of my family back home, to take care of my mother and my other family. I have four great children.
When I was younger, I always saw my uncle coming to Canada to work on farms. I asked him how I could do the same thing and he finally put me onto it. Since that time, I’ve been coming. I skipped four years to be back home but my boss here has always sent the request asking me to come back. Two of my brothers are now in the program too. One is in Nova Scotia and one works nearby. I see him often. We do everything on the farm from pruning trees to tending apples, cutting lavender. When the apples are ready to pick, we pick them. Gala apples are my favourite.
Back home, I have a small farm. I plant yellow yams, bananas, plantain, sweet potatoes and that type of thing. When I need help on the farm and I’m here, I use my phone to call friends to ask for their help. It’s not easy but it works.
Because I’ve been coming here for 30 years, these people are not like a boss, they’re like a family to us. I remember watching the kids when they were younger, go and take the bus to school. They grew up on the farm with us.
When I’m not working, we sit and play music or play dominoes. I also talk to my kids every day.