A tent for Christmas - Hurricane mom’s prayer answered

A sigh of relief rang out across New Works, Westmoreland, as Hurricane Melissa survivor Ann-Marie Warren watched strangers turn a patch of battered land into hope -- one tent pole at a time.

For weeks, Warren and her partner had been living out of their car on a compound after Hurricane Melissa tore their home apart on October 28, leaving behind only rubble and heartbreak.

Their ordeal worsened when their seven-year-old twin daughters joined them, turning each night into a painful test of endurance marked by cramped space, swollen limbs, aching bodies, and fear where comfort once lived.

Desperate and with nowhere else to turn, Warren reached out to this newspaper for help.

"Mi greatest wish in the entire world is to get a house, even if it is a one room," she said in an interview with THE STAR on December 3.

"I just want a roof over our heads, so that I can make my children happy again," Warren said.

Her heartfelt appeal caught the attention of Ground Force Humanitarian Aid, a United States-based non-profit organisation that provides rapid disaster relief to vulnerable communities affected by natural disasters. The charity moved quickly, erecting a tent for Warren, her partner, and their twin girls, giving the family space to lie flat, breathe, and begin to dream again.

"Mi can finally stretch out mi foot dem," an appreciative Warren said.

"For some people, it might just seem like a tent, but for me, it's a big thing," she continued.

"Imagine a sleep in a car from the hurricane. Mi never really see a way out, and right now we nuh have any mattress, but that doesn't even matter. We gonna spread blankets," Warren said.

S.M.L.