ONE hundred and ten families across the island, whose houses were either destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Dean last August, stand to benefit from a $51-million rehabilitation programme spearheaded by the Jamaica Red Cross.

Under the programme, wooden houses are to be built for the affected families in and around Lakes Pen, St Catherine; Toll Gate and Gimme-Me-Bit in Clarendon; and Leeds in St Elizabeth. Their sizes will range from 24’x8′, 24’x12′, 18’x12′ and 12’x12′ depending on the size of the families.

Head of Mission of the French Red Cross and the man in charge of the project, Julien Thomas, told the Observer Tuesday that the thrust was not to focus on the worst affected areas but on other communities, especially those with an abundance of single-parent households, disabled and elderly persons.

“It’s an emergency response and we’re not able to help everyone, so there were certain criteria that we used to select the people.

“We won’t be touching Rocky Point or Portland Cottage or any of the other coastal areas. We’ll be rebuilding where we know the houses will stand. In most cases, it will be in the same areas that people used to live in before the hurricane,” Thomas said.

He said so far, 25 houses have been completed and there is emphasis on the standard of construction.

“The houses will be wooden because we don’t have a lot of time, but they will be reinforced. We are very careful about the standard of construction, about how the structures are attached to the foundation and how the roofs are attached because we know that this happens every year,” he said.

The programme, which is funded by the European Commission, the French Red Cross and the General Council of Guadeloupe, began in January and should be completed by May.

Other objectives of the Red Cross’ reconstruction & rehabilitation programme are to help the local chapter improve its own building standards and to educate the beneficiaries about the importance of proper construction to their homes.