79-year-old retiree, Ignatius Phillip Cummings is pleading for assistance after the roof of his home blew off last week during heavy winds.
“I was in the yard when the breeze blew and the roof just stood straight up and then it just dropped on the other side of the house. When the rain came down all the beds and appliances that I had inside there get wet. Couch, bed and other things,” Cummings said.
Cummings has lived at his on Trinity Road, Guayaguayare, for decades, moving there from Moruga when he was just 25 years old.
When Guardian Media visited, he was surrounded by his grandchildren who usually come to visit during the vacation period, but this year he has nowhere for them to stay.
His son, David Cummings, is worried his father’s house could come down on him at any moment.
“There’s very little we can do to help. Right now, this place could collapse at any moment. Anything we can get to assist my old man would be appreciated,” he said.
He added: “The house is not really wholesome, it’s breaking apart. It’s very dangerous for me standing up here right now because if a hard breeze blows now.”
He said the family salvaged what they could but each day the rain does more damage.
Cummings sleeps under the house, moving around from spot- to- spot, wherever he can find a dry place.
He said officials from the ODPM came by, and from time- to-time people drop off food items for him, but there’s nothing substantial or anything that can help him long term.
Cummings usually sustains himself by planting yams in the land nearby, and hunting.
Anyone willing to assist can call 292-6132 or 287-3909.
