New home pledged for desperate mom, daughter

Food For The Poor Jamaica has committed to constructing a new house in September for Dezreen Miller – the mother who has been living in a dilapidated structure in Olympic Gardens – and her daughter, Anita Stephenson.

The charity group told The Gleaner that the duo were previously on its waiting list but had been selected weeks ago, prior to the publication of the story last Saturday.

A donor has come forward with construction funding and the mom and daughter will receive a new two-bedroom housing unit.

Miller and Stephenson had, months ago, been assigned an officer from Food For The Poor who pleaded on their behalf and so impressed the donor, who pledged the funds.

Stephenson, a former student of Shortwood Teachers’ College, overcame great odds by studying with a phone flashlight in their partially collapsed house for the last five years.

In a matter of days, she will also start her first job as a teacher.