Land designated

Land has been identified in St. George to rebuild the home of 88-year-old Edmunda Gittens whose plight was highlighted in the media on Tuesday.

When marshals pulled down Gittens’ house from the Kendal Hill, Christ Church, property, she has called home for over 80 years; she sat on a nearby lawn and watched in dismay, as tears streamed down her face.

The elderly woman and her mentally challenged son had nowhere to go. Gittens’ six other children were unwilling to take her in.

However, Chairman of the National Assistance Board (NAB) Senator David Durant and his team responded to the sad scene and sourced a temporary home for Gittens.

Meanwhile, plans are in motion to build a two-bedroom house for Gittens and her son, on a parcel of land, donated by the Urban Development Commission (UDC). She will also be receiving home care from the NAB.

“She is feeling very good and relieved about it. She is very happy to know that she is being looked after because she didn’t know where she would have gone,” Senator Durant said.

However, the chairman said he was not pleased that none of the elderly woman’s children were willing to help her in time of need.

“I am sorry that the family members didn’t come on board and help her. Our hope is for the first responders to be the family – the government should be the last resort. I know that some family members may not be in the position to help and I understand that.

“But those who can help take a more responsible position on an issue such as this, because you don’t want mummy to be embarrassed, so, as I have done over and over again, I am sending out an appeal for family members to
respond to these situations,” he said. (AH)