‘A good thing to happen at Christmastime’
Published:Monday | December 18, 2023 | 12:07 AM
Each time it rained and Deneesha White’s dilapidated house in Kingston leaked without mercy, she would send a video to her community’s member of parliament and the Opposition leader, Mark Golding, pleading for his intervention.
And each time Golding got her smart phone videos, along with her calls for assistance, it rested heavily on his mind and heart.
With his Constituency Development Fund and other funds being stretched to their limits, for months he kept thinking of a possible solution. One that came to mind was for the former director at Food For The Poor Jamaica, to reach out to the charity’s current chairman, Andrew Mahfood.
After seeing the videos, the need also rested heavily on Mahfood’s heart, and he decided to use profits from Wisynco’s BOOM Energy Drink to pay Food For The Poor Jamaica to construct a house for White and her family for Christmas. The house was constructed recently and officially handed over last Tuesday.
Now, Golding said it is pleasing to know that sufficient shelter has been provided for White and her children.
“I strongly admire the Mahfood family and what they have done through the organisation to help people, not just in Jamaica, and Deneesha is someone I have known for a good while now and I was just trying to find a solution,” Golding said before joining with Mahfood to hand over the house.
He said that, although it took a while for the construction of the house to become a reality, he is happy it eventually came to be.
“Her needs were very, very urgent, especially with the rain that was falling, and Andrew is my friend, so I just transferred some of the pressure from me to him,” Golding said before laughing with those gathered for the official handover of the house.
“I just want to thank Andrew for taking a personal interest in this matter, and for helping to move things along ... and it’s a good thing to happen at Christmastime,” he said.
With teary eyes, White said her problems were beyond just a leaking roof. The old elevated wood which made the floors decades ago were now rotted and sinking, which posed a major danger for her and her children.
Expressed gratitude
Before the keys to her new house were handed over to her, she briefly expressed gratitude to each of the persons who merged forces and made the gift of a house possible for her.
“Thanks to you all. I appreciate it so much. I don’t really know how to express it in words, but I really appreciate what you have done for me and my children,” White said.
Mahfood said it would have been remiss of him if he had not intervened.
“We were sent a video of her home and the roof is collapsing. The floor has virtually collapsed and it was leaking every time it rained, and it was just no way for her to live and raise her family, and I’m most thankful for the Wisynco family that was able to donate the funds to build this home,” Mahfood told The Gleaner.
Mahfood has called for more private companies to donate, especially during the festive season, to make the lives of the less-fortunate more comfortable and happy.