Elderly couple treated to new house 2 years after home caves in
Published:Thursday | June 27, 2024 | 12:09 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer
Ruddy Bailey, 85, and Odessa Gilzine, 75, have faced the relentless grip of poverty since birth. Despite their tireless efforts, the couple have never been able to escape the harsh realities of inter-generational poverty.
Bailey left his home parish of Trelawny at 15, moving to Kingston in search of a better life. Without a formal education, he scraped by doing odd jobs. After years of barely making ends meet, he relocated to Spanish Town. Despite his efforts, Bailey’s situation remained unchanged for over four decades, except for establishing a wooden structure in an informal settlement off Chambers Lane. It was there he met Odessa Gilzine, his common-law spouse for the past 12 years.
“It hard trying to survive, year after year same struggle to get through. I have no living family who can help me. Ah try everything, but never able to get by,” Bailey told The Gleaner. Reflecting on his childless life, he added, “I never get any children, perhaps if I got one child, life would be different.”
Gilzine, originally from Portland, left her family – most of whom have since passed – to seek a better life in Spanish Town. But, despite her hard work in domestic chores and selling goods in the market, life did not improve. “Mi work around the market fi years selling anything I could get, but it wasn’t easy for me, but mi meet him (Bailey) and mi move in with him, but it still hard,” Gilzine recounted.
The couple’s one-room wooden structure, which Bailey occupied for 20 years and Gilzine for 12, deteriorated over time and eventually collapsed during heavy rains two years ago. Bailey was trapped inside.
“The rain fall and flood out the place. Mi was inside alone and see one side cave in after the heavy breeze. Mi cover under one side until the rain stopped,” Bailey recalled. Gilzine was at church when the building collapsed.
Since then, they have been living in a makeshift dwelling made from the remains of their collapsed home, suffering greatly from the elements. Their plight was discovered by Kadian Clare, president of the Ellerslie Pen District Development Committee, while delivering care packages in the community.
“I went to deliver care packages and that’s how this couple was introduced to me. The breeze actually blow down the building they were living in, so they were homeless,” Clare stated.
She immediately reached out to Food For The Poor (FFP) and corporate entity Tru Shake, who came on board to build a new one-bedroom house for Bailey and Gilzine.
“So, we know that there are a lot of persons who don’t have a lot of family members who can help them, so we thought it fitting that a one-bedroom dwelling would be suitable for Ruddy and Odessa, and that’s why we are here with Tru Shake and the Ellerslie group to build this house,” said Marsha Rose, FFP’s development and marketing manager.
Lauren Mahfood, marketing manager at Trade Winds Citrus Ltd, expressed the company’s commitment to giving back.
“We are doing this because we strongly believe in giving back. We want to improve the lives of our people and country and it starts with lending a helping hand,” Mahfood told The Gleaner.
Joy Lennon, a neighbour who has known the couple since they moved into the community, expressed her gratitude.
“The entire community is happy for them. We are thankful Tru Shake and Food For The Poor could assist them,” she said.
Workmen from FFP were able to complete the house in one day, allowing the couple, for the first time in years, to have a secure and dignified place to call home.