Families Get New Homes for Christmas

Four deserving families in Manchester and Clarendon who lived in substandard conditions, have received brand-new houses just in time for Christmas.

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, on Friday (December 15), officially handed over keys to the units, which were built under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP).

The beneficiaries are Merlin Smart from North West Manchester, who received a two-bedroom unit; Rhoel Clarke from North Clarendon, who cut the ribbon to a two-bedroom house; Bridget Brown from North Clarendon, who received a three-bedroom unit; and Michele Vaughn, also from North Clarendon, who will occupy a two-bedroom house.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Ms. Brown said she is feeling extremely overjoyed and overwhelmed.

“Owning a house, to me, creates the greatest and the most satisfying feeling an individual can ever experience. This feeling of pride and joy I am experiencing did not come about because of my sole option, but it is the result of the commitment, persistence and dedication of a team of persons to whom I am extremely grateful,” Ms. Brown said.

She expressed thanks to God, Prime Minister Holness for his vision in implementing the NSHP, and Member of Parliament, Dwight Sibblies.

“I must express profound thanks for initiating such a programme to [give] low-income Jamaicans the opportunity to become proud homeowners. Sir, thanks is not enough for me to say to you. In fact, it is an understatement, but accept my sincere gratitude,” Ms. Brown said.

“You have made a tremendous difference in my life and that of my children. You have turned our life around and made what seems impossible for us a reality,” she expressed.

Rhoel Clarke, whose house was collapsing, was very grateful for his two-bedroom unit, which he said, he would not have been able to construct on his own.

“Thanks to you Mr. Prime Minister for giving me this house because I couldn’t have made it if it wasn’t for you, Sir. May Father God continue to bless you, so that you can help other poor people in need, just like how you helped me,” Mr. Clarke said.

Another beneficiary, Merlin Smart, said she was grateful to finally have a place to call her own.

“I thank God for what you people have done for me and I am also giving thanks to my Member of Parliament, and to the Prime Minister. Thanks to the people of Jamaica for stretching out their hand. The Bible says blessed is the man who considers the poor,” she said.

To date, 177 units have been delivered under the Government’s NSHP.

The programme, initiated by Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness in 2018, is overseen by the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.

It aims to improve the housing condition of the country’s neediest citizens through the provision of quality, affordable and sustainable housing.

Beneficiaries are primarily selected following a recommendation from their Members of Parliament, after which the oversight committee of the NSHP examines the income of the household and ensures that the current housing structure is substandard.

The units provided under the NSHP represent stability for the future of the families.

Speaking at the handover ceremony in Manchester, Mr. Holness highlighted the importance of the social contract signed by the beneficiary.

“You’re not going to rent this house out; you are going to live here. Your house is given for a residential purpose… the next time that I visit the house, it will be in the condition that you got it; it will be properly maintained,” Mr. Holness said.

“I know based upon how ambitious you are that it could be that on my next trip you would have gone up a storey on this house. Nothing is wrong with that if your life circumstances have changed and you are able to do so,” Mr. Holness said.

“However, if you are going to add to this structure, you must comply with the Town and Country Planning Act. You must get the approval of the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation who built the unit and your parish council for any extensions to the unit,” he pointed out.

Mr. Holness further urged the beneficiaries to continue to be “upstanding citizens” in their communities.

“Be an ambassador of hope and an ambassador of good, and that your children will all benefit from this,” he said.

The Prime Minister noted that the houses were granted to the beneficiaries “by the taxpayers of the country, and we expect, in return, that you will use the house to improve yourself and your children and create the intergenerational wealth that will break poverty in your family and in your community”.