Bamboo Ridge resident gets helping hand

Fifty-year-old Devon Blake is now safe and dry from the leaky nightmare he suffered at the slightest drizzle on the roof of his home at Bamboo Ridge, St Catherine. That change in fortune came courtesy of a pre-Labour Day house-building project last Saturday.

Blake was overjoyed at the hands of benevolence that shovelled and trowelled away at the 12ft x 14ft concrete structure.

"A long time mi live in a di likkle one-room board house and it leak bad as it dew, so mi glad to get di help," he said.

Blake had long cherished the dream of building a new house, but had been forced by ill fortune to abandon the project after his house rose two-block heights out of the ground. He expressed gratitude to Adrian Samuda, former president of the Old Harbour Chamber of Commerce.

On Saturday, several residents pitched in, hammering away at the structure that became a reality in a matter of hours.

One construction worker, Hopeton Pitterson, said he felt proud to give a helping hand to Blake, who he said has been struggling with the decrepit structure he called home for more than 20 years.

"It is a great feeling to be here today assisting wid di house. Is long time dat da bredda deh a suffer. Him even start it himself, but him couldn't finish it, so we a dweet fi him," Pitterson said amid a festive mood with music, drink, and food.

Meanwhile, Samuda, the team leader, said that the project was a humanitarian effort.

"I selected this as my Labour Day project having learnt of this man's plight. It was revealed to me by a relative who lives here," Samuda told THE WEEKEND STAR.

"I saw the condition first-hand and was almost drawn to tears when I saw the inhumane condition in which he existed," Samuda added.

Samuda, councillor caretaker for the Old Harbour North Division, said that other business interests contributed to the project.

"This is the culmination of my networking with business people and persons online. They contributed material such as blocks, cement, steel, sand, plus help from community members," Samuda said.