A Mother of Six Told Her Story. A New York Church Group Read It and Built Her a House

• A Christian church group in New York built a new home for a St Catherine mother of six
• The Gleaner had reported on the family’s conditions two and a half months earlier
• The house has three rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom
• The mother now hopes to raise broiler chickens and open a small shop

In August 2021, the Gleaner reported on Nickiesha Myers and her six children in Mountain Pass, a community on the edge of Linstead, St Catherine. The family had a ramshackle outdoor kitchen, no indoor bathroom and nowhere comfortable for the children to study. By late October, they were living in a new house, the Gleaner reported.

The house was built by a New York-based Christian church group that asked not to be named. It has three rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom, replacing the conditions the family had lived with before.

“I am thankful for The Gleaner, which highlighted my need for a place to call home. The donor read the story and they came here and built this house for me. This is a very good feeling,” said Myers, 35.

Myers had worked as a bartender and a caregiver but gave up work to look after her mother, whose mobility is limited. With a roof secured, she was already thinking about income. “I now have the house. I just hope that I could get some broiler chickens to raise, so I can strengthen the support given. I can also run a little shop. I am willing to work,” she said. She also said she hoped to finish her formal education.

Delray Reid, also quoted in the report, said the donation showed “there are good people still out there, but the state agencies also need to do more.”

The story is a small example of a pattern that shapes rural Jamaican housing: diaspora churches acting as informal housing agencies. A congregation abroad can read a news report, raise money and pay for a house faster than most families could get through a formal application. There are limits, though. Such gifts depend on who happens to see the story, and a house built without secure title or planning approval can leave a family exposed later. Churches overseas planning similar projects will do more good if they confirm who owns the land and work with local builders who know the approvals process, so the gift is a durable asset and not just a shelter.