KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s oldest living person, Ida Troupe of Tivoli Gardens in western Kingston, will celebrate her 117th birthday on Christmas Day, according to the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.

Troupe, a retired vendor who was among the first people to move into Tivoli Gardens when the housing development was constructed in 1963, was born on December 25, 1900.

Member of Parliament and Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, in a release today, said at that point, she will attain the same age as the late Violet Moss-Brown from Duanvale in Trelawny, who was officially certified by the Guinness Book of World Records in July this year, as the World’s Oldest Living Person and Oldest Living Woman.

“Christmas Day will have a very special meaning for me this year, because of Miss Ida. She is an extraordinary person who has lived through so many events we only read about, including the 1907 earthquake, Hurricane Charlie of 1951, Colonial Government and Internal Self Government.

“We lay claim to her not only as Jamaica’s currently oldest living person but also arguably, the world’s oldest living person. I am very proud to name her among my constituents, and I look forward to the Guinness Book of World Records officials returning to Jamaica to visit her,” McKenzie said.