St Bess family gets new $10.5m home, almost three years after fire gutted previous abode
Published:Monday | March 3, 2025 | 12:06 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Enid Brown and her family are now in a celebratory mood as their wish for a new home was realised last Thursday when they were given the keys to their $10.5 million two-bedroom house, courtesy of the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development’s Indigent Housing Programme.
The joyous occasion for the family, who reside on Pump House Lane in Burn Savanna, St Elizabeth, comes nearly two years after a devastating fire destroyed their home, leaving Brown’s granddaughter, Ackalia Dunkley, with third-degree burns from which she is currently recovering.
“This house represents a new beginning for us. We are immensely grateful for the support and kindness we’ve received. It’s a blessing to have a safe place to call home,” Brown told The Gleaner, as she gripped the keys to her new home.
She went on to expressed profound gratitude for the stability and comfort the new home brings, recounting that the fire caused by a cooking gas cylinder explosion ravaged their previous home and tested their resilience as a family.
According to Brown, Ackalia’s recovery has been an arduous journey, filled with challenges. However, with unwavering community support and governmental intervention, she said her hopes has been restored.
“I can’t explain how happy I am to be alive, first, because I wouldn’t be able to see this beautiful place … and I thank God for his goodness and his mercies towards us,” said Brown.
“I had three of them at the time, and God preserved them, although that one (Ackalia) got burned, but God knows best, and I thank God she is doing well.”
The ministry’s Indigent Housing Programme has been instrumental in providing homes for people in dire need, and Brown’s story is a testament to its impact.
On June 16, 2023, Ackalia, who was then a grade-seven student at Black River High School, suffered third-degree burns after the gas cylinder exploded. She had to seek medical care in the United States, with the assistance of the Sanmerna Foundation, to treat her life-threatening injuries.
Addressing the handover ceremony, Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie boasted of the work of the Indigent Housing Programme, saying the government, through his ministry, has spent millions providing homes for the less-fortunate in St Elizabeth.
“We have spent close to $50 million building indigent housing solutions in this parish,” said McKenzie, who noted that there are at least two other families who are soon to benefit from the programme.