Portland mother still waiting for help

Six months after Hurricane Melissa tore through eastern Portland, Franceita Renford is still struggling to rebuild her life. A mother of two who lives in the Rio Grande Valley, her home was destroyed during the storm, leaving her with little more than the clothes she escaped in and an uncertain future.

Speaking to The Gleaner on Saturday from her workstation along a corridor on West Street in Port Antonio, Renford appeared shaken as she catalogued her losses: her house flattened, furniture and appliances ruined, and personal belongings – clothes, bedding, shoes, school uniforms and vital documents – either destroyed or swept away.

“I have basically lost any hope of getting any form of assistance. Since a team from the NIS (National Insurance Scheme) visited, about four days after the hurricane, I haven’t gotten any assistance,” she commented.

Hope fades

The visit, she said, raised expectations that help might be forthcoming. Those hopes have since faded.

“They came and did their assessment and even though I have visited the office from time to time, I have not gotten any definitive word as to when or if I will ever get any assistance. I also visited the office of the Member of Parliament, Isat Buchanan, but I really don’t know what is happening. I have not seen any councillor and it is so frustrating for me and my children. I have a child attending primary school and another in college and I am the breadwinner.”

The financial pressure has been relentless. Renford earns a living selling jewellery in Port Antonio, but the income is barely enough to keep her family afloat.

“I have to be paying my son college fee, which is very challenging at this time. I sell jewellery in Port Antonio, which is my livelihood, but it is simply not enough. My children’s education is very important, so I try to focus on that, and therefore I am unable to purchase building material to begin the reconstruction. It is rough on us at this time and I really need help to build back my house,” she added.

Renford said she made the difficult decision to leave her home before the storm hit. Perched on a hillside in the Windsor district of the Rio Grande Valley, the plywood structure stood little chance against hurricane-force winds. By morning, her caution had been vindicated.

“I just broke down as the loss was just too much. Since then I have been staying with a church sister/church family [Windsor Church Of God Ground of the Truth]. I am very thankful for their assistance; however, I really want to be able to get back into my own home with my children.”

What she needs most, she insists, is modest but beyond her current means.

“I just need some sheets of zinc and ply-board to get my house up and running again. I just cannot afford the building material at this time,” she said, adding: So I am appealing to anyone willing to help to contact my church pastor Errol Dean at 876-420-9519, “she concluded.

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