The good news story about what personnel at the Annotto Bay Police Station did for a family in distress in St Mary last week has brought out the true meaning of Christmas.

The police personnel arranged a collection of cash and kind for the mother and her children whose house at Dover on the outskirts of Annotto Bay, was gutted by fire in 2017.

The police, who did the running up and down, and the House Assembly of Praise in Brooklyn, New York, who donated a barrel of items, must be highly commended for their efforts. They have started the work. It’s now time for the State to go further and complete the job.

It is obvious, based on the photographs, that the living condition of the family is less than ideal; and while many will say that that is the story of many Jamaicans, this one requires urgent attention.

Perhaps that able institution, Food for the Poor, may be able to donate a two-bedroom structure to get things rolling, and then the Government comes in with backup support.

A fire is never a nice thing, unless you are burning rubbish. When an inferno hits your house it is not an easy feeling. I have seen it growing up in rural Jamaica, and people getting frantic at losing their vital stuff.

Let us see what we can do for this family.