ST JAMES, Jamaica — Two communities in the constituency of St Ann South Eastern are set to benefit from improved water supply, following the donation of two 10,500-gallon water tanks by the Jamaican Chinese community.

Scores of residents in the communities of Grierfield in the Moneague Division and Lumsden in the Claremont Division are set to benefit from the recent donation.

Member of the Chinese community in Jamaica, businessman Yangsen Li, presented the water tanks to Member of Parliament for St Ann South Eastern, Lisa Hanna, at a brief handing-over ceremony in Montego Bay as part of efforts to alleviate the water crisis currently being faced in sections of the constituency.

“Today (recently) I am so happy to say congratulations to the people who are going to get these two industry size water tanks, which can each store up to 10,500 gallons of water. Water is life; living without water is very difficult. As you know, people from some critical areas have suffered from the lack of water for a long time and we hope these two water tanks can help [these] people to get out of that bad situation,” Li told reporters.

“We also want to take this opportunity to say thank you to the Chinese community in Jamaica who made this donation a success. As a member of the Chinese community, I feel so proud [that] our Chinese Association always says ‘yes’, when we see the local communities needing help. We have worked with different organisations to help people in need [and] we will continue to make this effort in the future,” the businessman added.

Hanna was elated to receive the donation on behalf of her constituents.

“This is a wonderful day for the people of South East St Ann. As you know, in deep rural communities, we have a significant problem with accessing water and over some 40 per cent of [residents] living in South East St Ann do not have access to water so what we have developed is a plan to provide community water,” said Hanna.

The plan, she noted, influenced her to reach out to the Chinese community for assistance.

“We reached out to the Chinese community because China produces what is called industrial water tanks, so these [two] water tanks can hold up [21,000] gallons of water and when I looked at the research globally, China was the country that I saw producing these kinds of tanks [so] we reached out to the Chinese. They were very kind; they came on board [and] brought them in,” the MP added.

The tanks, Hanna revealed, will be used to provide running water to homes in the two communities, through a partnership with the constituents, as the National Water Commission (NWC) does not provide piping for those rural areas.

“What we hope to do, two communities, one in Claremont and the other in Moneague, will be receiving the tanks and we hope to provide the piping and then try to provide a situation where the community themselves are able to provide the water so we will continue to meet with the community,” Hanna said.

Claremont Division resident, Ricardo Riley, also expressed gratitude to the Chinese community in Jamaica, for the donation. He noted that the water tank will greatly benefit the farmers in the division.

“It will be a big boost for the people because they have suffered over the years with the water crisis. NWC is unable to reach them [so] water could flow through their pipes. This will [also] be a great boost especially for our farmers who suffer through the [yearly] drought,” Riley said. 

Riley, an engineer, told OBSERVER ONLINE that he is looking forward to the joy on the residents’ faces when the tanks are installed.

“When you can assist and help, it is always a joy and I look forward to installing this tank for them, and I anticipate the joy on their faces when we do,” Riley said.

Resident of the Grierfield community, Romane Thomas, noted that the residents are looking forward to the project. 

“The residents have been asking for water for quite some time…there are around 200 residents, and they are quite anxious,” he stressed.

Thomas, the councillor candidate for the Moneague Division, explained that the water tank will ease the financial burden of residents, as they will no longer need to truck water to their homes.

“This initiative will benefit the people of Grierfield because it will at least ease their burden, financially. They would no longer have to pay a huge amount for trucks to [truck] water to them personally. They now have enough water to enjoy other freedom that persons have with running water. They can bathe without thinking about using a bath pan, they can have water to feed their animals and for recreational purposes,” said Thomas.

Rochelle Clayton