Residents of Portland Cottage in Clarendon, who were victims of storm surges caused by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, are now proud beneficiaries of 50 new double housing units donated by Food for the Poor (FFP) in collaboration with Citibank.
The keys to the homes were presented to the new homeowners yesterday by Peter Moses, President of Citibank, during the handing over ceremony at Citibank's Corporate head office in New Kingston.
The 50 units were built on 10 acres of land at an estimated cost of US$20 million (J$1.3 billion). The homes are at a new location called Wildman Town Housing Scheme, which is located between Portland Cottage and Jackson Bay in Clarendon, about one mile from the sea.
Each resident received 6,000 square feet of land, with enough space to make improvements and for farming.
Safe from storm
Jonathan Smith, Peace Corp Representative at Food for the Poor and Project Architect/ Consultant, designed and managed the construction of the units. He assured the residents that the houses were designed specifically to withstand strong hurricane winds. He said the new community is safe from storm surges.
Several structural improvements were also made at Wildman Town to ensure the safety of residents.
Since its inception in 1983, Food for the Poor has built and handed over 15,000 housing units costing over US$31 million (J$2 billion).
