THANK YOU CONRAD HAMILITON, JEAN MCDERMOTT, SERENITY AND MISS S.M, AND MANY OTHERS

Published June 17, 2012 | By

Finally! Jonah and his family get a home
‘Oh God, man. Mi thank unno, mi thank God’
BY CONRAD HAMILTON Senior staff reporter [email protected]
Sunday, June 17, 2012

THREE months after their destitute living condition was highlighted in a Sunday Observer exclusive, Jonah Johnson, and his common-law wife Hyacinth Lewis are now waking up to more than just a new roof over their heads.
The March 25 story detailed the deplorable conditions of the couple and their five children who at the time were living in what at first glance appeared to have been an abandoned building atop a hill overlooking the small farming community of Stepney in St Ann. A tiny section of the badly rundown structure, measuring less than the size of the average bathroom, served as the family home. The occupants had no bed, neither was there any other sign of basic conveniences, apart from a bundle of clothes on which they slept.
Some members of the large crowd which gathered in Stepney, St Ann on Thursday, observing workmen as they put the finishing touches to the new family home.
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Stunned by the disclosure, scores of Jamaicans — both at home and in the diaspora — offered financial and other support to the Government agencies which co-ordinated the assistance for the family.
That initiative, which began when a school principal went in search of help for the family, reached its high point on Thursday last week when a throng of community members, and representatives of state and non-government organisations gathered in Johnson’s yard, as workmen from relief agency, Food For the Poor, completed a two-bedroom house for the family.
For St Ann Health Department representative Michelle Whyte, the event was heart-warming, as she was the one who was approached by the school principal who had requested assistance on the family’s behalf. “It is so overwhelming to see them moving into their home. It’s not my home, but I can just imagine how happy they are to be having a shelter over their heads tonight, and you can see where they were living before; a mean, this is like a mansion,” said Whyte, who stated that the initiative has motivated her to continue offering her services to rural communities.
“It has encouraged me to do more. This is something that I always wanted to do, helping people, and this is why I chose to work in the community,” she said.
For Richardo Aiken of the Social Development Commission (SDC), the completion of the house and the other forms of assistance to Johnson and his family resulted from good co-ordination among all the agencies.
“When we discovered the family, we discovered that the housing situation was just one of the issues that needed attention, so what we did was bring in all the agencies to have a multi-agency approach to addressing the situation,” he explained. “We realise that no one agency can bring forth meaningful change, so what we did was pull together all the entities.
“When we found out his (Johnson’s) situation, we had to contact his relatives overseas to get permission to erect the house on the land he now occupies. After that, we met with them, and through Food For the Poor, the member of parliament and others we did the foundation for the house. To be honest, it’s a proud moment, almost teary-eyed. Seeing the situation the first time and actually putting all the things in place, being in contact with all the persons, including the member of parliament, I feel more fulfilled,” said Aiken.
Similar sentiments were expressed by Astley Dawson of the St Ann Poor Relief Department, who in March, when he first visited the family, described the living conditions as the worst he had seen in his more than 30 years with the department.
The many community members who were on hand for the work day could hardly restrain themselves as they praised the entities that assisted their neighbours. “Them really did need the help but, we couldn’t help them, we couldn’t manage,” said Carmelita Davis as she stood among several men and women who had gathered at the front of the new dwelling.
As the workmen applied paint to the new structure, and amidst the chatter, Jonah Johnson was besides himself with joy. “Oh God, man. Mi thank unno, mi thank God, although mi a Rasta, mi love God,” said the beaming Johnson as he carried a bed — donated by one of the agencies — into his new abode.
As he stopped to speak with the Sunday Observer, his common-law wife joined in and expressed gratitude. “Mi feel good fi know that the house come, and thanks to all who support mi,” said Lewis, even as she bemoaned the absence of her children; Jonah, 8; Alesha, 7; Jordan, 4; and the youngest, two-year-old Kimone.
The children were placed in State care following a visit in March by Child Development Agency (CDA) representatives who had concluded that their living conditions were unacceptable.
Lewis, who had just returned from a court appearance in Brown’s Town, said the children wanted to return home with her. “Dem crying fi come home, dem miss dem father, especially the two big one dem,” she said. Her first child, Javaune, the product of a previous relationship, was not taken by the CDA officials, as he was with his mother at another relative’s house.
But for Johnson, the return of the children is the only thing that will complete the transformation. “Oh God, man. Mi can’t eat no food. Every time mi tek up mi dinner and tek the first bite, mi haffi spit it out back, ’cause when dem did deh ’round, anytime the dinner come to mi, mi always have the little baby or one of dem to mek dem taste it first. Me couldn’t build one like this (house), and a dat the judge say, him say anytime mi get the house mi can get back the kids, if mi don’t get the house mi can’t get dem back,” Johnson explained.
Based on discussions with the representative of the CDA who was on location on Thursday, the children should be released to their parents by the middle of next month.
“We had four of them in our care, they had to be separated, the two smaller ones in Montego Bay and the two older ones in St Mary,” said the CDA’s Carlyn Stewart. “The smaller ones we wanted a nursery-type setting for them, and the older ones we had to consider continuity of schooling. The children were before the court today (Thursday) again, and I am pleased to say that this will be the last time they have to come to court and not be released to their parents. We are pleased that with what is happening today we can comfortably report to the court that the children can be released to their parents.”
Meanwhile, several of the representatives of the various State agencies who were present in Stepney on Thursday disclosed that significant efforts have been made to improve Johnson’s ability to provide for his family. In addition to being placed on the Government’s poor relief programme, the Rural Agricultural Development Agency (RADA) has joined the efforts and has given farming supplies to Johnson, who now has close to two acres of crops, primarily sweet peppers, under cultivation.
Donald Robinson, the RADA parish manager, told the Sunday Observer that his office will be providing much-needed technical advice to the farmer, as some of his techniques were not efficient.
When the Sunday Observer visited the house in March, Johnson was struggling to purchase agricultural supplies, and the small plot of cultivated land was being ravaged by severe drought conditions.
“Me improve ’cause mi get little help fi tek the farming further. Mi couldn’t buy the fertiliser and mi get one bag and a half and it stretch me out far. Mi couldn’t buy cabbage seed and mi get a pack and me get fi drop it. So next year mi suppose to get better,” said Johnson, who plans to take the produce to market in Brown’s Town.
Member of parliament for South West St Ann, Keith Walford, who was instrumental in the efforts to assist the family, expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
“It’s a really great feeling, you being here and seeing what was happening, and seeing what we have accomplished today, it really moves my heart to know that we have helped another family,” Walford said as he explained that a constituency fund has been established to help other poor families in his constituency, which has some of Jamaica’s poorest households.
He added that Noranda Bauxite company contributed to the efforts to assist Johnson and his family, and indicated that other destitute households in the constituency could benefit from a continuation of the partnership with the many stakeholders who contributed to the initiative to improve the living conditions of Johnson and his family.