KENDAL, Hanover – “God has opened up a way for me.”

Those were the words of Kendal senior citizen Kenora McFarlane after her dilapidated board house was given a much-needed face-lift and furnished, courtesy of the Janet Richards Foundation and Courts Jamaica Limited recently.

“I never expected this but it worked in my behalf… I thank Janet Richards. Praise God for all that you have done for me, and especially Courts. I thank everyone who contributes to my upkeep and may God bless them,” expressed a grateful McFarlane.

Despite Richards’ frequent visits to the Kendal to spruce up the site where her mother was buried years ago, she was unaware, until recently, that the senior citizen, who lost her husband a few years ago and is without children, was alive and living under less than desirable conditions.

According to Richards, the founder of the Janet Richards Foundation, a friend of hers came to Jamaica in January and later placed a photo of McFarlane on Facebook. Richards told the Jamaica Observer West that she later called the individual who told her where McFarlane resides.

She later contacted and visited McFarlane.

On seeing the conditions under which the senior citizen was living, Richards sprang into action.

“When I came here [to Kendal], I was in shock to see the condition that she was in and I took the pictures and I recognised that she did not have any fridge. And I said how do you get ice-water? And she said she had to buy ice down the road. So, I then went back to my brother Norman Miller [a], former member of our church too, and I said, listen, we need to get a fridge for Sister McFarlane because she doesn’t have any. And, afterwards, my brother and I started talking about painting. There was a room right here, which we demolished because it was no good. She was not able to go in it for years,” Richards explained.

“This lady is like a mother to me and when I saw the condition I said, no, she can’t stay and I call on some of my friends [and] supporters of my Janet Richards Foundation, and I said we need to change the ply [board] that was also rotten and some of the boards and demolished what was there and it didn’t take me much and because people believe in me people gave me paint. Yes, and with the money that I got, I bought the necessary things that you see here. You notice that you have carpet on the floor. I changed up the room, I changed up the verandah,” said Richards, adding “we did two days of hard work with some very kind people from Kendal.

“She didn’t even have a chair to sit on, [so] I made sure that I got a comfortable chair for her to sit on. She got brand-new drapes [because] she had just the ordinary curtain at her windows and I changed it to drapes in the kitchen, the bathroom and her room,” Richards continued.

Richards said she later approached Courts Jamaica Limited with the intent to purchase a small refrigerator at a reduced cost.

She said however that a representative from the company called her a few days later and said ‘no I can’t give you that fridge, Janet, I’m going to give you a brand new bed with a bedhead, a brand new fridge, a brand new stove and a brand new television for her. I’m just looking forward to making a difference to this lady.’

Richards said she was not only happy to have assisted the senior citizens but felt obligated to help the woman who cared for her as a child.

“As a little girl, my mother usually goes to the market on a Friday night. And on a Friday night, I usually stay with her and her husband until my mother comes home on a Saturday evening, then I would go home. I did not pass [McFarlane’s house] and she did not give me something to eat. So, I feel as if it is a part of my responsibility to ensure that she’s happy, not only me, but my family, who have committed that they will always continue to look out for her,” expressed Richards.

Meanwhile, Richards has expressed gratitude to those who assisted with the project.

“I really want to say a real big up to my supporters, my friends in Montego Bay, my siblings who supported me and Courts Jamaica Limited,” said Richards, a native of Kendal.