The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

ELLEN Sherman and her family were crushed last year when a fire destroyed their home.

They cried with joy while receiving the keys to a new house yesterday.

Ms Sherman, the family matriarch, discussed the journey with reporters.

She said her family’s life changed last September when their Golden Gates home burned.

“When we got home, the house was still standing, but then we noticed on the side, and my back portion was completely consumed with the fire,” she recalled.

The next day, the fire reignited and destroyed their house.

The family was separated afterwards, with Ms Sherman no longer living with her daughter and grandchildren.

But thirty-seven years after buying that house, Ms Sherman is a homeowner and gets to live with her family again.

“I just thank God,” she said. “He has been so good to us, and His hands have mercy on everybody who came into our life during this time period.”

Labour and Public Service Minister Pia Glover-Rolle recalled staying overnight with the family last year after their house caught fire, only to learn later that the fire reignited and destroyed the structure.

“Arawak Homes stepped in as they always do, a great community partner, and gave her hope and now a brand new, beautiful modern home, and Ms Sherman and her family are able to start again,” she said.

President Franon Wilson said Arawak Homes enjoyed helping the Sherman family alongside CIBC First Caribbean.

“Everyone has a journey when you talk about homeownership,” he said. “As a result of the fire, this family is still living in different places.

“The fact that this could bring everyone back together, this really truly is what it’s all about.”