Waltham residents gifted house

After enduring over two decades in suboptimal living conditions with limited options for rebuilding her home, 62-year-old Normalym Ross-Hinds recently found renewed hope with the gift of a new house.

The house was donated by Food For The Poor Jamaica and the Desnoes and Geddes Foundation. Ross-Hinds was more than happy to welcome the charities to Waltham Park last week as they helped to prepare the land alongside her children, before the team constructed her new home.

"My previous house is in very bad condition, and it's saddening because I have lived there for many years. The roof in the bathroom and kitchen were leaking, so you can just imagine when it rains. Some of the materials on the outside are extremely old and need fixing, but we just haven't been able to afford it," she said. Ross-Hinds said she was happy when the organisations reached out and offered to assist her.

"I am overwhelmed, and I cannot even begin to explain how grateful I am for a better house."

Almost 30 years ago, Ross-Hinds and her husband settled in their previous house on a strip of land belonging to his family. However, since the land was not their own, they faced challenges rebuilding, especially after his death 15 years ago.

"The land was from my husband's side of the family, so we experienced challenges rebuilding and restructuring, and that didn't change after his death. Thankfully, a community member asked us to breed and raise chickens on a piece of his land. After some time, I was the one paying the taxes for that land, and it is now the space for the new house. I would say I'm blessed to have a solution," she said.

Previously employed as a domestic helper, Ross-Hinds found the income insufficient to make ends meet. She now sells at the school gate, a venture that provides just enough for her to provide for her family.