Gareth Davis Sr, Gleaner Writer

Paule Sabrina Brown, hugging her grandmother, Doris Lightbody.- photo by Gareth Davis Sr

A 15-year-old Haitian girl of Jamaican parents is now with family members in Portland after being stranded for approximately three weeks on the earthquake ravaged streets of Port-au-Prince.

Paule Sabrina Brown landed at the Norman Manley International Airport at approximately 12:30 p.m Friday aboard a Digicel-chartered flight from the Haitian capital.

She was accompanied by a representative of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), who was on assignment in that country.

The teen is now staying with her grandmother and a family member in Anchovy Land Settlement, Port Antonio.

"I held her in my arms and kissed her," Doris Lightbody, grandmother of the teenage girl, told The Sunday Gleaner minutes after the two were reunited.

"She was actually smiling. She held on to me, and muttered some words, which I didn't really understand, but I could tell she was really happy. She is in good health, and will be well taken care of," Lightbody added

The teenager was found last Thursday by a team from the JDF after The Gleaner published an appeal from Lightbody.

Brown was living in a tent with a woman identified as her godmother, and more than 20 other persons.

The teenager, who spoke through an interpreter, told The Sunday Gleaner that she was playing on the roof of her house with friends at the time of the earthquake.

She said they quickly climbed down and she managed to grab her cellular phone before fleeing the house, which was vibrating heavily, with cracks appearing all over.

"I was very frightened," Brown said. "Although the house did not collapse, we were scared, as the walls had large cracks all over. We went to an area, where there were many people, and I was placed in a tent with many persons who had lost their home, and family members."

frightened

The teenager said while in the tent, she received food and water, which was brought in from the neighbouring Dominican Republic.

"I was cold at times, frightened, and to some extent, lonely. I thought about my family, and I was able to contact my father in the United States (US) and tell him about my situation.

"Before the earthquake struck, I was attending college; however, school was not in session at that time. I found out later that the school was destroyed during the earthquake. I am very happy to be with my family," she said.