Fire Victim Receives New Home

Fifty-nine-year-old Collington Graham, a taxi driver from Seaview Gardens in St. Andrew, is thankful to be the beneficiary of a new home after the house in which he lived for 24 years was razed by fire in 2020.

The keys to the two-bedroom unit, which Mr. Graham will occupy with his 15-year-old son, was handed over by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, during a recent ceremony in the community.

The $5.8 million house was built under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP).

During the handover ceremony, Mr. Graham recalled the day in October 2020, when a candle that was left unattended sparked the blaze which destroyed his home.

In the two years following the mishap, his son, who attends Norman Manley High School in Kingston, lived with his grandmother in Riverton, while Mr. Graham stayed with friends and received assistance from his church.

Mr. Graham approached his Member of Parliament (MP), who directed to him to the NSHP.

“After losing my house, it was hard driving past the remains; some people would’ve gone mad. But I thank God, the Prime Minister, and my Member of Parliament,” he said.

Prime Minister Holness, in his address, noted that each house provided under the NSHP is constructed “at or above the Government’s building standards.”

He said beneficiaries are only required to make a commitment to positively impact their community by being law-abiding citizens.

Member of Parliament for St. Andrew Western, Anthony Hylton, in his remarks, commended the efficiency of the NSHP.

“It was responsive, I believe, and the work was up to standard. We are pleased,” he said.

The NSHP was implemented by the Prime Minister in 2018 as the housing component of the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme under the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.

It aims to improve the housing conditions of the country’s poor and disadvantaged population by providing quality, affordable and sustainable housing solutions.