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Needy family won’t get new house for Christmas
December 13, 2021
Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, has expressed regret that a needy Westmoreland family will not be able to move into their new home for Christmas.
The family is living in Moreland Hill in a dilapidated structure. McKenzie, who visited the family again late last week, said it is very clear to see that the family, which has been living in deplorable conditions for some time, is gravely in need of the new home, but said that he was informed by the municipal team coordinating the project that the two-bedroom house will not be completed until the new year. It was initially hoped that the family would have been able to move in by October.
Farmer Winsome Jones, 52, resides there with her common-law husband, Barrington McIntosh, and their two daughters, Candace and Landcia Coke. In addition to the failing structure of the home, members of the family are suffering from various health issues.
Jones said that she has been faced with serious challenges ever since Landcia, now 15, was diagnosed with a rare spinal disease at birth, and that her life took a turn for the worse, when she herself was diagnosed with diabetes and lost one of her legs.
But despite feeling disappointed that she would not be able to move into the home for Christmas, she said that she was still happy with the efforts of the various stakeholders who have been involved in the construction so far.
"My family have been having life very hard over the years, because all a wi savings haffi spen fi mek sure seh Landcia could survive and attend school as a normal child," she said.
The living conditions for Jones and her family have deteriorated over the recent months, but the visit from McKenzie in July gave them some hope.
McKenzie said the family will not only be getting a new home, but he has given orders for the house to be fully furnished. He said that the family should get assistance through Food For The Poor and the children will be monitored to ensure that they get proper schooling.
