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Tuesday, July 14, 2009 3:07 PM
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Ms Barbara Gilbert's fine example
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
IF you missed the story we suggest that you get a copy of our sister publication, the Sunday Observer, and read how one woman, an American, provided housing for an entire Jamaican village.
Ms Barbara Gilbert, who lives at rented premises in Atlantic Beach, Florida, showed what is possible with limited resources and a determination to ease the plight of the less fortunate.
Ms Gilbert, using money from her personal savings and raising another US$200,000 through the charity, Food for the Poor, not only secured homes for 84 Jamaican families across the island, but has lifted the standard of living of a group who may otherwise have been forgotten.
Among those who have received benefits are families who have settled in Bernard Lodge, St Catherine, in a community rightly named Barbara's Village, on lands donated by the Sugar Company of Jamaica.
Ms Gilbert, according to the report in the Sunday Observer, learnt about the needs of poor Jamaicans while listening to a radio telethon in 2005 in Florida. At the time, Ms Gilbert, who was a waitress, part-time student and single mother, pooled her savings with tips she received from diners and from other people she told about a plan to house a Jamaican family.
When she visited the island to help one family she saw greater need and began what she says is a lifelong commitment to providing shelter for the poor who cannot afford a place to lay their heads.
"I want to build a whole village. I wanted to help as many families as I could and not just one," Ms Gilbert said.
After visiting Barbara's Village last month, Ms Gilbert was elated when she saw the care with which the beneficiaries treated the houses. She was also impressed with the fact that they had planted flower gardens, as well as the general peace and happiness in the community.
We hope that the beneficiaries of these homes will continue to take care of them and, also, continue to allow peace and a community spirit to dwell among them. Any change must be for the better.
Too often people who do not make the personal sacrifice do not really appreciate what has been given to them. We saw a manifestation of that culture under the inner-city housing programme in Kingston a few years ago. It did not take long for most of the residents to default on their payments to the National Housing Trust, despite the fact that the amount they were required to pay was just a fraction of the cost of the units.
There is, however, a lesson to be learnt from Ms Gilbert. It is that we don't need billions to start tackling housing for the poor. What is needed is the will and a determination to succeed. Luckily for the residents of Barbara's Village, Ms Gilbert was not blinkered by the green and orange politics of the communities in which she was able to accomplish her commendable mission. For too often political considerations intervene in projects in Jamaica and only those from a particular 'side' benefit.
Unfortunately, this corrupt policy extends to the use of politically connected contractors who, in most cases, complete their work with huge cost overruns.
Maybe, by adopting Ms Gilbert's approach, we could also get rid of the zinc fences in urban communities which former prime minister, Mr P J Patterson, said contributed to the 'uglyfication' of Jamaica.
Well done, Ms Gilbert. You have set a great example that the authorities would do well to follow.
home news Business sport lifestyle Teenage western news entertainment environment Classified AdsEditorial Columns Career Food All Woman Letters Jobs E-Paper Free Classifieds Business Awards SEARCH
LATEST NEWS:
British woman caught smuggling cocaine in golf clubs from Montego BayEditorials
Ms Barbara Gilbert's fine example
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
IF you missed the story we suggest that you get a copy of our sister publication, the Sunday Observer, and read how one woman, an American, provided housing for an entire Jamaican village.
Ms Barbara Gilbert, who lives at rented premises in Atlantic Beach, Florida, showed what is possible with limited resources and a determination to ease the plight of the less fortunate.
Ms Gilbert, using money from her personal savings and raising another US$200,000 through the charity, Food for the Poor, not only secured homes for 84 Jamaican families across the island, but has lifted the standard of living of a group who may otherwise have been forgotten.
Among those who have received benefits are families who have settled in Bernard Lodge, St Catherine, in a community rightly named Barbara's Village, on lands donated by the Sugar Company of Jamaica.
Ms Gilbert, according to the report in the Sunday Observer, learnt about the needs of poor Jamaicans while listening to a radio telethon in 2005 in Florida. At the time, Ms Gilbert, who was a waitress, part-time student and single mother, pooled her savings with tips she received from diners and from other people she told about a plan to house a Jamaican family.
When she visited the island to help one family she saw greater need and began what she says is a lifelong commitment to providing shelter for the poor who cannot afford a place to lay their heads.
"I want to build a whole village. I wanted to help as many families as I could and not just one," Ms Gilbert said.
After visiting Barbara's Village last month, Ms Gilbert was elated when she saw the care with which the beneficiaries treated the houses. She was also impressed with the fact that they had planted flower gardens, as well as the general peace and happiness in the community.
We hope that the beneficiaries of these homes will continue to take care of them and, also, continue to allow peace and a community spirit to dwell among them. Any change must be for the better.
Too often people who do not make the personal sacrifice do not really appreciate what has been given to them. We saw a manifestation of that culture under the inner-city housing programme in Kingston a few years ago. It did not take long for most of the residents to default on their payments to the National Housing Trust, despite the fact that the amount they were required to pay was just a fraction of the cost of the units.
There is, however, a lesson to be learnt from Ms Gilbert. It is that we don't need billions to start tackling housing for the poor. What is needed is the will and a determination to succeed. Luckily for the residents of Barbara's Village, Ms Gilbert was not blinkered by the green and orange politics of the communities in which she was able to accomplish her commendable mission. For too often political considerations intervene in projects in Jamaica and only those from a particular 'side' benefit.
Unfortunately, this corrupt policy extends to the use of politically connected contractors who, in most cases, complete their work with huge cost overruns.
Maybe, by adopting Ms Gilbert's approach, we could also get rid of the zinc fences in urban communities which former prime minister, Mr P J Patterson, said contributed to the 'uglyfication' of Jamaica.
Well done, Ms Gilbert. You have set a great example that the authorities would do well to follow.