Jonique Gaynor, Staff Reporter

Jennifer Elvie (foreground) sits before what is left of her new house in Shearer' Portland Cottage, Clarendon. -Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

Danville Walker, head of the Office of National Reconstruction (ONR), says residents of Shearer' in Portland Cottage, Clarendon, who recently accused his organisation of providing substandard houses, need to be more grateful for what they received after Hurricane Ivan.

His comment comes after many residents of the area, also known as Relocation Boulevard, complained about the standard of the homes which were damaged during the passage of Hurricane Dean.

When The Gleaner visited the community on Monday, many residents said they had been done a disservice when they were advised to relocate. The houses, located in a community also known as 'Relocation Boulevard', were built jointly by USAID and the ONR after Hurricane Ivan destroyed the community and dislocated hundreds of residents.

One resident, who was overjoyed to see that their plight was finally getting attention, was quick to share her experiences with The Gleaner.

"Dem seh a slab top, mi nuh know a wha kinda slab top dat," she said. "Mi in deh las nite (Sunday) and di slab top jus liff off an drop dung, bow! Dis is cruelty man, dis is wickedness. Slab house can't criss and yu haffi a sweep out wata like mad. Yu fi see all some a dem how di top buss up, buss up."

Jennifer Elvie, another resident, who moved into one of the new houses because she says she thought it would have been safer, said she found out otherwise.

Everywhere condemn

"Mi move up from di bottom and come here, thinking here would be much safer. Everywhere condemn. Mi jus haffi forget about everything down there."

Walker, however, said no real damage could have been done to the houses with slab roofs, and said: "I can understand the ones with the roofs blown off, but I can't understand the ones with the slab top."

He added: "Whether they might shift or move is one thing, but they can't be blown off."

He also mentioned that the residents fared much better this time than they did during 'Ivan'.

"If you get a house as a gift and the roof is leaking, I only have one thing to say, go and fix the leak," Mr. Walker said. "I have no apologies about that statement. If you can't fix the leak, set a bath pan and if you can't set a bath pan, sweep out the water. We're sorry and sympathetic with your pain, but I'm sure the Government will be working hard."

In the meantime, residents can look to Food For the Poor for help as they have been assigned special responsibility for the recovery efforts in Portland Cottage. Bradley Finzi-Smith, executive director of Food for The Poor, told The Gleaner that workers have already been deployed to the area and are conducting assessments.

He said: "Our objective is to move into Portland Cottage and, as best as possible, repair the roofs. The concrete structures that have been damaged and the slab roofs have been given to the Welfare Department of the Government. We have 350 workers out in the parishes and Portland Cottage is our main focus. We will be going down on Friday (tomorrow) with food and medical supplies and, by next week, we will start our repairs."

jonique.gaynor@gleanerjm.com