Houses Handed Over to Hurricane Victims

Some 186 of the 500 houses promised to Jamaicans who lost their homes during the passage of Hurricane Sandy in October, have been delivered to persons in eastern parishes, Project Director for the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP), Lucille Brodber, has said.

In a recent interview with JIS News, she also noted that work is on-going to deliver the remaining units by the end of January, 2013.

Ms. Brodber informed that the houses are being constructed in St Mary, St Thomas and Portland.

“The number of units that we have completed to date is 186 and this is broken down as follows: Central St. Mary, 21; South East St. Mary, 14; West St. Mary, 14; East Portland, 46; West Portland, 31; East St. Thomas, 50; and West St. Thomas 10,” she  said.

The Government is funding 50 per cent of the cost of the units, while Food for the Poor is providing the other 50 per cent.

 In early December the Government announced that the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) engineering regiment was assisting in the construction of the units, in a bid to speed up the process.

The project, which commenced in November, is being jointly undertaken by the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing and Food for the Poor.