Oswald Williams, or Ossie as he prefers, is a sad figure today after his one-room dwelling in the Hellshire Beach community was hit very hard by Hurricane Sandy.

The Category 1 hurricane swept through Jamaica on Wednesday, leaving varying degrees of damage in her wake and though other members of the fishing village were spared any major damage, Williams was not so lucky.

"Look how it twist me up man," he said sadly, pointing to what's left of the dwelling. "It all lick dung mi fence." When THE WEEKEnd STAR visited the beach on Thursday, Williams was using a piece of board to hammer into one of the fence posts as he tried to return things to 'normal'. The slender man was a lonely figure as he literally tried to pick up the pieces.

"I used to be a fisherman but mi get old now and can't manage the sea again. Mi haffi retire from that," he said. The 75-year-old said he now searches the bushes for dry wood to sell to the many seafood restaurants along the strip. His popularity in the area appeared evident as persons cleaning up their own spaces kept telling us to "get his story man; him need nuff help." Williams said he was in another section of the community on Wednesday afternoon, when a neighbour told him his house was going down.

"So mi run come roun' in the rain and see it," he said. But he is happy that his clothes and what few belongings he does have were not ruined because, surprisingly, the roof is mostly intact. The house though, now leans precariously to one side, part of it seemingly buried beneath the sand. It looks like it could come down completely any minute.

"Mi sleep in deh last night (Wednesday night) enuh," he said, to our astonishment. Williams lives alone, and said he has no children or close family to help him. But he has no plans to leave the community, where he said he has made his home since 1975.

"I'm hoping to build up back a little place for myself right here," he said, to achieve that he needs lots of help . He doesn't have a cellphone but anyone who would like to find him shouldn't have any trouble.

"Just ask for Ossie. Everybody know me man," he smiled for the first time all morning.