The clothes that Mabel promises to give Kya aren’t actually from a family that wants her smoked fish. Readers know this because Mabel has already told Jumpin’ that she’ll try to make a stew with the fish, in addition to the fact that she plans to collect clothing for Kya from their church. In turn, it becomes clear that Mabel simply wants to help Kya, who she recognizes is in desperate need of support. To that end, she also gives Kya seeds and teaches her how to garden, thereby demonstrating that sometimes people need the support of others to help them increase their own self-sufficiency.