Bolden family home ‘to be fixed’

After fearing their run-down home would not withstand the impact of a passing storm, a St Philip North family has been visited by their MP, who has promised to have their home fixed.

But they may have to wait as the Government agencies tasked with restoring their homes lack the cash to finish the job, the parliamentary representative has conceded.

A day after the Bolden family’s plight was highlighted by Barbados TODAY, MP Dr Sonia Browne visited their home today and found a house in bad shape and in urgent need of attention.

She said a check with the Rural Development Commission revealed that “a few houses were built but a lot of them fell into disrepair.”

The MP told Barbados TODAY: “There is no guarantee that after a hurricane that house will stay up.

“The house will be built over but I can’t say how soon this will be done. But her name is in the system.”

Dr Browne said that there is irreparable water damage.

She said: “All I can do is try to pull it through but there are a few houses in St Philip North which are like that.

“There is also a problem with a burst pipe but I called the relevant auhorities.”

On Tuesday, a Barbados TODAY team came across Beverley Bolden whose dilapidated timber home had become a house of horror as she prepared for Tropical Storm Dorian.

She said: “All the back is breaking away.My daughter didn’t sleep the night Tropical Storm Dorian passed because she thought it was going to blow off.

“I would like the whole house fixed because it is too far gone.

“When it rains, the water comes in from the side.”

Bolden, who lives with her pensioner mother and a mentally challenged son pleaded for assistance. Browne said help is on the way as both rural and urban development commissions have been contacted but the only setback is a lack of funds.

She said: “I spent a good piece of money on this house already. The face sink, piecing together the wood so it wouldn’t break apart but I spent thousands on the house.” (MR)