Lorrain Banton and her children get settled in their new home in Rocky Point, Clarendon, yesterday. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
A few dozen residents of Rocky Point, Clarendon, who lost their property when Hurricane Ivan ravaged the island in 2004, finally have a place to call home again.
Slowly, they are moving into hurricane relief houses that have been built by the Government on higher ground in the same seaside community.
Ninety-three houses have been provided to the residents, and when The Gleaner visited the area early yesterday, dozens of persons were getting things together in their new homes.
Lorrain Banton is mother to eight small children and moved into her new home last Friday. She received the keys on Thursday.
"Mi happy now because since the hurricane, mi don't have anything. I lost everything in the hurricane and I was staying at my father's house. I really happy to have my own place again," she said, as she sat at the entrance to her new home.
There were two beds, a television set and a small table inside the house. The children were sitting at the doorway with their mother.
LOST ALL IN HURRICANE
Ms. Banton said she lost all her possessions in the hurricane, which she describes as easily the worst experience of her life.
"I just have to tek time buy back everything and, thank God, I get back a house now," she said.
The houses were given to the residents free of charge, but there is a $700 monthly payment that they have to make for the land.
Ms. Banton makes a living by cleaning fish on the beach in the community. She said she will make the payments no matter how hard she has to work.
"And when anybody pass here, they will see how pretty we keep the place. We really thankful," she said.
But there is one major problem.
The residents of the new housing scheme are still without water and electricity. According to Ms. Banton, she and other community members were told that their homes would not be hooked up with the essential commodities until money owed to the National Water Commission was paid up. She, however, said the money was not owed by the residents but by the contractors who built the houses.
"Anyway, we meet with the MP (Member of Parliament) Ruddy Spencer this morning and he told us that we would have the water and light by Friday. Him working it out for us so we all right," she said.
