Kimoni Harris, Staff Reporter
Delroy Cooper looks out from his wasp-infested house in Berwick district, rural St Catherine
Can you imagine living in a shack surrounded by wasps? Well, Delroy Cooper of Berwick District, St Catherine, has been doing so for more than two years.
Cooper told the STAR that since Hurricane Ivan destroyed his home, he has been unable to rebuild one. He said he was given an old shop to live in but lightning struck twice, as another hurricane, Dean, also damaged his temporary home.
Living in a shack
Cooper is living in a dilapidated shack, surrounded by wasps. "Mi love them. Mi and dem sleep at nights and only me alone can enter this shack ...," he said.
"Mi nuh really live nuh weh from Ivan," Cooper said. "I have 14 children, but only two of them stay with me right now. Them and mi babymother live further up the road with a lady. Cooper says that before Hurricane Ivan, he was surviving reasonably well as he had 40 goats, that he reared to make a living. He also worked with the parish council, earning $5,000 monthly by working on the roads.
Still alive
Despite his mishaps, a cheerful Cooper told the STAR: "Mi lose everything but mi still a live. Mi still try and raise goat, sell coal and plant yam and banana. Mi caan read, but mi smart and mi try every little thing fi send mi kids to school."
One resident of the community said, "him never born in the district, but him a good man and misfortune tek him so we come together and help him."
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