New house could change fortune of poor Westmoreland family

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmond McKenzie has expressed hope that the construction of a house for a poor family in Westmoreland will herald a new beginning for the beneficiaries.

The house is being constructed in the Sheffield division in the parish. When completed, the two-bedroom structure will have its own water-harvesting system. It will also be fully furnished.

"I am looking at the commencement of a change in the fortune of a family," McKenzie said at a recent meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation.

The minister announced that an additional six social-housing solutions will be built in the parish for less fortunate persons.

"There are hundreds of Jamaicans just like this family in a similar situation. We will never have all the resources that are required to offer the assistance, but at least we are making a start," he said.

Garfield James, councillor for the Sheffield division, said that the building of the house for the family was "an act of love".

"I want to applaud [Mr McKenzie] and the team who have seen it fit to have taken on this initiative in an aggressive way, where in short order, it has borne fruit and we are here to witness that. It can only get better from here, and there are many families in the respective communities and by extension the constituency, who are in dire need, but we can only start and deal with [them] one by one," he said.