BY CAROLYN JOHNSON, Freelance Writer
THE FRAY FAMILY has been touched by many good Samaritans.
Following a story carried in THE STAR last October, many persons have responded to the plight of a grandmother and her four grandchildren.
Annette Mitchell died during childbirth early last year, leaving behind Chevelle Fray, 11, Camille Fray, 9, Jordan Fray, 7, and baby Joshua Gaynor. Grandmother, Beryl Henry, assumed responsibility for the children.
At the time of THE STAR's story; the children were sharing a one-bedroom shack housing two beds, their grandmother, two aunts and five cousins. None of the adults was employed and the only source of income - chicken rearing - was exhausted in order to provide monry for the funeral arrangement.
Another viable source of income, a farm, proved problematic as Henry said she did not have the money to buy machinery to plough the land.
Three months later, the Fray family is in a much better position as the housing situation has improved, although 12 people still share the facilities.
"The person saw the story and he phone us and say him going to do something for the children. The little shack was looking so awful. We thank God for him deeply, I can't even express it," Henry said.
The good Samaritan whom Henry refuses to name, has added a bedroom, hallway and veranda to the old structure.
The good tidings do not end there. "People an loved ones drop in an give me those chickens say dem giving me a start," Henry said pointing to the full fowl coop. "Thank the Lord for those people, give thanks."
Despite these developments, Henry says it is still a struggle. Her goal is to get her two and a half acre farm going. This she hopes will help to turn their situation around.
How are the children coping? "They understand. Sometimes dem say dem miss har. But if she was alive, things would be better," a teary-eyed Henry said.'
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