Grange, JFF offer help to footballers who lost home

Minister of Sports Olivia 'Babsy' Grange says the Government of the Jamaica will play a substantial role in helping to rebuild the house of national goalkeeper Akeem Chambers and his brother, Tafari.

Both brothers lost their house and all their belongings last weekend. The three-bedroom dwelling in Olympic Gardens was completely burnt out after a massive fire.

Grange, along with president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Michael Ricketts, and other football officials visited the burnt-out home yesterday. The area is located in the constituency of Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

"I was very touched last night (Tuesday) when I spoke to the prime minister and he indicated that he will be assisting you in a very substantial way," Grange told the brothers.

"More than anything else a roof over your head is important and so the prime minister along with support that is being offered by Tank-Weld and Food For The Poor, your housing solution is covered," she said.

Moving very speedily

"From my perspective, as your minister of sports, my contribution through the Sports Development Foundation is to make sure that your place is well furnished because I want you to be comfortable and to be able to provide for your family," Grange said.

She said that she was very happy that no one was hurt in the fire and that she would be moving very speedily to ensure that the brothers can get their lives back on track very quickly.

"I know that experiencing a fire can be very traumatic, but what I want to say is thank God no life was taken. We are here to help you put your lives back on track," Grange said.

Meanwhile, Ricketts said his association is very happy to be assisting the youngsters with the rebuilding of their house.

"We have decided to reach out to our fallen soldiers and a decision coming out of a meeting is that the JFF will make a $200,000 cash contribution to assist with the rehabilitation process," said Ricketts. "

The 21-year-old Akeem, who is the first choice goalkeeper at Waterhouse this season, said he is thankful for the support that he and his family have received from everyone.

"I am really appreciative of everything and I want to give a big shout out to the Minister of Sports and to the JFF," he said. "These contributions have certainly lifted the spirits of my family and the community has also been very supportive."