20 November 2021
W
hy is it that some of the
most giving people have
endured the most pain?
ey know what it is like
to go without, to suffer unspeakable loss, but
also to survive and thrive. e more they are
knocked down, the more they get up and
give. Sharing their light. Pornjai "PJ" Smith,
the unofficial godmother of Person Street, is
one of those special people.
At her PJ ai Cuisine, a convenience
store-turned-restaurant across from the
Cumberland County Courthouse, the
woman known as "Ms. PJ" or "Mom" cooks
for everyone from high-powered attorneys
and business leaders to people who are
without homes, hope or happiness. She
intuitively feels their sorrows. She offers
encouraging words with no judgment.
MAKING
AN IMPACT
PJ Smith serves hope and a
'humble heart' in her downtown
Fayetteville restaurant
BY JANET GIBSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
RAUL RUBIERA JR.
FA SCI NAT I NG
FAYETT EVILLE
NOW
HIRING
At 5-feet-2-inches tall,
Ms. PJ is small in stature,
but a giant to many who
have been recipients of her
kindness.
"Pay what you can, when you can," she
says to those who have fallen on hard times,
as she discreetly hands over a container
filled with delicious food. Because she too
knows what it is like to be hungry.
Several people have returned months
later to pay full price for their meals. e
once displaced say they now have shelter and
jobs. A recovering addict says he recently
completed rehab and is striving to stay clean.
A former prostitute, trained as a nurse, has
gone back to the healthcare profession. ey
