KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) –Twenty-two families in Crooked River, St Mary, who were displaced following the passage of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 have been provided with new homes.

Family members were presented with keys to the 22 new houses as well as letters of possession for the units, during a ceremony at the Annotto Bay High School in St Mary on August 23.

The 300 square feet, two bedroom houses, were provided through a partnership initiative involving Food for the Poor (FFP), which targeted people in the parish deemed worst affected by the hurricane.

Junior Minister with responsibility for Housing, Dr Morais Guy, who spoke at the ceremony, said the units have been presented as “grants” to the beneficiaries.

The dwellings, he outlined, comprise a living room, kitchen, and bathroom; a solar panel to provide power; a water tank; a sewage disposal treatment system; and a lot that allows for future expansion.

The occupants have also been provided with the first full tank of water courtesy of the Ministry’s Rapid Response Unit.

Dr Guy explained that while the lots will be subject to lease arrangements “over a time, and after that, you will have the option to purchase (them).”

The Minister advised that allocation of the houses is in addition to grants awarded to the beneficiaries to repairs the houses they previously occupied, that sustained partially damage.

Dr Guy said presentation of the houses represents a “major milestone” and prospects for a brighter and more prosperous future for the recipients.

“We are cognizant that lives can be transformed through initiatives such as this one; and it is for that reason, among others, that we did not hesitate to get the project off the ground,” he said.