Beloved burn victim, father get new $9m home through social-housing programme
Published:Thursday | February 22, 2024 | 12:11 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Westmoreland burn victim Adrianna Laing and her father, Adrian, now have a new place to call home thanks to the Government’s new social- housing programme, which has provided them with a two-bedroom dwelling valued approximately $9 million.
The Laings, who lost their previous family home in Springfield, Westmoreland, to a deadly fire 16 months ago, now reside in the community of Slope, St Elizabeth.
“God has spared my daughter, and she is here with me and we just have to give God thanks and keep on praying,” said the elder Laing, whose child survived the fire that killed her three brothers.
Addressing a social contract signing ceremony yesterday, he told those gathered that he would never forget this moment and that he would forever be grateful to everyone who lent a helping hand at the news of his family’s ordeal.
“Today is a moment that I will never forget, and the circumstance that has brought us here was beyond my control,” he said, referencing the fire that destroyed his home, killing three of his four children.
“The tragedy happened in Westmoreland. I missed my boys to the point that I was crying very hard on Sunday all by myself,” Laing said of his three boys, nine-year-old Adrianno Laing and seven-year-old twins Jorden and Jayden Laing.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who has portfolio responsibility for housing, said the people of Jamaica were proud that the Laing family was a beneficiary of the new social- housing programme, given the tragic circumstances that left them without a proper home.
“I know, Mr Laing, you are going through a very difficult time, and I hope that this house will help to ease the burden and at least offer some comfort to you and Adrianna,” Holness said.
Accordingly, the prime minister sought to reassure the family, who are still reeling from the tragic incident that destroyed their previous house and robbed them of three young members of their family.
“The people of Jamaica are happy that you are a beneficiary,” Holness told the Laing family during the handover and social contract signing ceremony for his new home on Wednesday.
“The house was completed a month ago, and we are finally in a position to hand it over officially to the Laing family,” the prime minister said.
Approximately $40,000 was raised to fly Adrianna, who survived the inferno that destroyed her home and who sustained third-degree burns, to fly her to the Joseph M. Still burn centre in Atlanta, Georgia.
Speaking with The Gleaner yesterday, Adrianna, who has had 18 life-saving operations, said she was happy that her family had been provided with a new house.
“I am very thankful for what the prime minister and the people of Jamaica have done for me and my father. We are grateful to have been given this house, and we will take good care of it,” said Adrianna.
For his part, Morland Wilson, the member of parliament for Westmoreland Western and in whose constituency the Laing family resided up to the time of the tragedy, said he was delighted to see them in their new home, albeit in another parish.
“My heart is filled with joy now that Adrian and his daughter, Adrianna, can finally turn the keys to their new home,” Wilson said. “I was one of the first people at their home, and I saw the tragedy that that fire inflicted on the family, and I immediately called on the prime minister to help the family with a new house, and here we are today. That commitment has been delivered,”Wilson added.