Chester Castle councillor appeals for rebuilding assistance

Western Bureau:

Wynter McIntosh, the councillor for the Chester Castle Division in the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC), is appealing to individuals, organisations and the Government to provide building material and other items to assist the victims of Hurricane Melissa in that area.

While seven weeks have elapsed since the passage of the hurricane, some residents of Chester Castle, which took a devastating hit from the hurricane, are still without secured shelter as their homes were either severely damaged or destroyed.

“The recovery process in that division is very slow, and while affected persons would have gotten several care packages, they are now asking councillors, when are we going to be seeing some building material, so we can restart our lives?” McIntosh told The Gleaner.

“Living under tarpaulin is now kind of getting to them, and so they are now asking, when is it that we will see some real recovery from the hurricane?” added McIntosh.

According to McIntosh, the primary need currently is for zinc, plyboard and other building materials, which would be enough to create even temporary dwellings, that could ultimately serve as the foundation for permanent structures in the future.

During last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the HMC, McIntosh was quite vocal in appealing for the resources from the Government, saying that is what is needed to give him the confidence to provide the reassurance to the affected residents in his division.

He also used the opportunity to express his gratitude to the individuals and entities who came forward with care packages that satisfied the immediate needs of the residents in the early days after the hurricane.

According to McIntosh, whose division consists of 28 communities, some 15 communities were seriously affected by the Category 5 hurricane. However, except for two of the persons who lost their home and are staying with good Samaritans, the other affected persons are operating independently, as all the shelters are now closed.

“It is clear, my division was seriously impacted, and it is going to take a very long time for things to get back to normal. But with seven weeks post-hurricane, we need to start the rebuilding,” said McIntosh, who noted that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is now doing assessments across the division, though some communities have not yet been visited.

McIntosh also stated that some of the affected persons are of the view that the councillors and members of parliament can better assist them, which, he says, is far from the reality.

“We [as councillors] do not have the funds to start doing anything, as we have received nothing from the Government that would indicate that we could start something in our respective divisions,” he said, noting that councillors are being put under stress.

Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels, who is also chairman of the HMC, threw his support behind the sentiments expressed by McIntosh, saying most of the affected persons just need a little assistance to make their damaged homes liveable again.

“The situation is the same in all the divisions, as persons are really waiting on us (the HMC) to help them to build back their homes,” said Samuels. “Most of them are not really asking for a complete house. There are persons out there that deserve that; but what most of them want is assistance to put back a roof in place, so that they have a place to rest at nights and shelter when it rains.”

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