Tough times for East Rural - But Juliet Holness stays close to her extended family

There are hardly any politicians who would, at the first opportunity, seek to exchange places with Juliet Holness. Her constituency - St Andrew East Rural - has been at the forefront of unwanted attention for the past eight months or so.

In March, she and members of the East Rural family held their collective breath after sections of Bull Bay were placed under quarantine to help contain the spread of COVID-19.

Jamaica's first case of the disease was detected in a woman who spent much of her life in Bull Bay and had visited the island from England.

The community, however, managed to rebound from the stigma and scorn. But last month, land slippages caused by heavy rainfall claimed the lives of 15-year-old Sanique Leachman and her 42-year-old father, Romeo Leachman, after their house collapsed in Shooters Hill.

Steady and sometimes torrential rain associated with Tropical Storm Zeta, resulted in more then 20 landslides across the constituency. The Chalky River burst its banks and flooded sections of Weise Road in Bull Bay. But there was more to come.

More devastation

Last week, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Juliet's husband, announced the deployment of the Disaster Assistance Relief Team of the Jamaica Defence Force to Bull Bay after more devastation. The Chalky River again overflowed, this time thanks to rainfall associated with Tropical Storm Eta. Houses were flooded, damaged, and even destroyed.

Holness has also had to focus on the Gordon Town and Mavis Bank divisions which have been hard hit after a section of the highly trafficked Gordon Town main road collapsed at Stand Up Hill.

"Having gone through one pandemic, which is not quite finished yet, and seeing the weeks of flooding and devastation, it is just a lot to deal with and a lot on my constituency," Holness told THE STAR yesterday.

The second-term MP has established a GoFundMe account geared at raising money to help nurse her constituency back to good health. She has set a goal of raising US$20,000 (approximately J$2.9 million) "to assist our recovery efforts in response to devastating flood rains". As of yesterday, three days after its launch, some US$614 (approximately J$89,800) has been contributed.

"I want to be in a position to add to the $1.5 million granted by the Government in Parliament, so I'm really hoping to raise more than $3 million," Holness told THE STAR.

The MP, who said that Corporate Jamaica has been reaching out to donate, said she is "planning to find other ways to raise funds because I know more will be needed to help the residents who have suffered loss".

Holness said that the trauma being faced by members of her constituency has also left her distraught.

"I'm emotionally invested in my constituency, which is an extension of my own family. So when things happen it really affects me, I find it to be a stressful time just going through and seeing what persons are experiencing," she said.