REBUILDING A ‘NATION’, ONE HOME AT A TIME
On Friday morning (April 24), a commitment came full circle when Ms Evette Nation received two sets of keys at the threshold of her brand new, fully furnished 3-bedroom home.
After braving the lashings of Hurricane Beryl in 2024, Ms Nation and her family believed that the worse had passed, but in the quiet aftermath, a flicker from a single candle changed everything, the place that they once called home was reduced to ashes.
Shortly after, Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, during a trip to the community, visited Ms Nation and stood in the outline of where the structure once was, there, he pledged to support the family through the Ministry’s Indigent Housing Programme.
While speaking at the handing over and groundbreaking ceremony, the Minister reminisced on the moment he broke ground for the construction of Ms Nation’s house.
“The last time I came here, we broke grounds for the construction of this unit that you see here to my left. When I came, it was a sad and unfortunate occasion and what I saw was touching, [I]saw a family in grief, saw a family wondering what’s next for us? where will we go?” the Minister recalled.
“Right there I made a commitment, that the government would respond and we started the process… and I am here this morning, not just to find out what is happening but to see exactly what is on the inside…Manchester is very privileged because we have built a number of indigent houses in Manchester,” he added.
“The Ministry of Local Government, we continue to construct indigent housing, that is our commitment… it is the responsibility of Poor Relief to provide housing for the persons who qualify under the Poor Relief Act,” he said as he emphasized on the importance of recognizing the needs of the people.
Meanwhile Minister of State in the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Delroy Williams reinforced the government’s commitment to providing housing assistance to citizens who need it most.
“As a country…we always have to develop, design and implement programmes that address issues among vulnerable groups in our country. Housing is a major part of this,” he said.
“More and more people like yourself Ms Evette Nation will benefit as the programme is improved,” he added.
For his part, Councillor Mario Mitchell, who represented the Mayor of Mandeville, Councillor Donovan Mitchell spoke to the quality of the construction and commended the team at the Manchester Municipal Corporation who worked alongside the contractor.
“I want to recognise the persons from the Municipal Corporation for this house… this is an improvement. When I came a while ago, I ask if it’s a five-bedroom house this, because we have some houses already, top top quality, when we build a house in Mandeville it is well built,” Councillor Mitchell added.
After the handover, the team moved to an area adjacent to the house, where they broke ground to signal readiness for the construction of a 2-bedroom unit for the brother, Mr Robert Nation and his family. Ms Nation is the recipient of the first 3-bedroom dwelling under the Ministry’s Indigent Housing programme, which previously only constructed Studio, 1- and 2-bedroom units.