‘A Christmas blessing’
Family overjoyed after receiving home gift from Good Samaritan
Published:Sunday | December 10, 2023 | 12:16 AMAinsworth Morris - Staff Reporter
Instead of hosting a grand bash to celebrate her 50th birthday, Michelle Henry has opted to channel her energy and resources into constructing a house for a mother and her family in need.
Henry, who will celebrate her birthday tomorrow, said she resolved to give the family a house for Christmas as her birthday gift because of principles her now-100-year-old grandmother instilled in her, primarily the heart of giving.
“Growing up as a child, I have always been inspired to give. It really makes me feel good to help others, and to see that I can make someone’s life more happy and to make their living condition much better than what they had before,” Henry told The Sunday Gleaner last week.
“My grandmother always taught me that in giving, there is a sense of peace and comfort that you get from helping others who are less fortunate, and she always reminded me that it comes with a blessing to give and to give with your heart.”
And Annette Thompson is forever grateful for Henry’s kind heart and generosity.
“I feel so happy!” declared the unemployed mother, who lived in a dilapidated house with her two children and elderly mother in Duxes district in Point Hill, St Catherine.
“Our living condition was so bad, but God send help. Now, me and my family get this Christmas blessing. We can enjoy Christmas in a comfortable home.”
‘I FEEL SO HAPPY!’
On Monday, Thompson received the keys to the new, furnished house, which Henry paid charity organisation Food For The Poor Jamaica to construct. Members of Henry’s immediate family, who were present at the handover, donated the furniture along with groceries as gifts.
Thompson said although she had expected the house, she was surprised by the furniture and the food, which will definitely make her Christmas merrier.
She was even more overjoyed at getting a refrigerator, enabling her to reserve food and manage her limited resources.
“Thank you very much! I feel so happy!” the cheerful mother told Henry and her family.
Thompson shared that things have been really difficult, noting that for the last 15 years, she and her family were forced to live in a single 10x10-foot room, which sat metres from the new house.
She showed The Sunday Gleaner the cramped space with its leaky roof and lacking a toilet or area for potable water. She said her family had no choice but to use nearby bushes to relieve themselves. On the outside of the dwelling was a makeshift structure for bathing.
The foundation of the old building was shaky, with large stones used to brace it.
“This is the Christmas gift I have been wanting for a while now. Fifteen years now we are in that house. When rain fall, I have to come outside to wash the plates and have a shower. Sometimes when the gas is finished, I have to cook with coal on the step. Sometimes when the rain is falling, I have to tie plastic bag and tarpaulin on the housetop because the solitex (ceiling board) is falling out, so I have to hold it up with the plastic,” she explained to The Sunday Gleaner.
“This is the best Christmas gift ever! Nothing can really compare to receiving a house, shelter for me and my two girls and my mother. Now, we have a dining table and a kitchen where we can comfortably cook our Christmas meal.”
Thompson added, “I do a little hairdressing, but I have nowhere to keep clients, but with the house, I can do hair on the veranda and have more persons come over to do their hair.”
HELP AS MUCH AS YOU CAN
Henry shared with The Sunday Gleaner that she was also inspired to give the house because of friends she lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My life has been renewed and I wanted to do an earthly act that was significant and pleasing in the sight of the Almighty,” she said.
Henry also said that she was blessed to witness her grandmother celebrating her 100th birthday this year, which she believes is her earthly reward for her generous heart and spirit.
“I want to use this opportunity to encourage everyone, citizens and businesses, to contribute to the homeless and those in need. It’s really a good cause, and it’s just an awesome feeling when you see how happy you make a family,” Henry declared.