Family of five to get makeover after social media plea

An impassioned plea to help a struggling mother and her four children has triggered a massive effort to provide decent living conditions for the females in seven days.

Less than 24-hours after social media influencer Jordan English highlighted the plight of Katura Luke’s family, construction and sanitation contractor Anderson Cherry has pledged to do “whatever it takes” to improve the family’s condition.

And while the house at Diamond Valley, St Philip, is being transformed, management of the nearby Crane Resort has agreed to provide all-inclusive accommodation for the family.

Cherry, managing director of Jose Y Jose Liquid and Solid Waste Management Inc explained that after seeing English’s appeal on social media, he visited the site to get a first-hand look at the decrepit state of the 39-year-old single mother’s home.

He reached out to some of his customers in the hotel industry who have been more than willing to assist with thousands of dollars in cash and kind, he told Barbados TODAY.

Cherry mobilised the Waste Haulers Association for the cleanup of clutter including bottles, plastic, dirty clothes and other items in and around the house.

“I met with [Katura] and we discussed some ideas and things that she would love to see in the house and we will be reaching out to Corporate Barbados to see what donations we can get. We are going to paint the house, clean it and outfit it with furniture, stoves, beds, and fridges. We would like all new things to put in the house and make the people comfortable along with clothes and other items for the children,” he told Barbados TODAY.

“The amount of money is not an issue. We will do whatever it takes along with the help and support of my customers that have supported me over the years who keep Jose Y Jose’s doors open. We are going to give it our best shot and do everything possible to make the family comfortable.”

Tiles, galvanised roofing, concrete boards, and paint along with numerous appliances are still needed to make the seven-day makeover a success.

In the meantime, the children, two of whom celebrated a birthday on Tuesday, were treated to a limousine excursion by Lyndhurst Funeral Home, before being taken to Crane Resort for a seven-day stay.

Cherry said he will spend his 48th birthday on Wednesday working closely with English who he described as “a very wonderful and passionate man”.

He added: “In these hard economic times, we too [Jose Y Jose] are going through a very difficult time losing 80 per cent of our revenue because most of our clients are hotels. So our bottom line took a very hard hit. It is a very difficult time for my company, but we still have to reach out and help other people and I want to encourage Barbadians to come onboard and help with any other project that Mr English is helping out with. He is a very wonderful and passionate young man.”
kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb