PANZY DUHANEY nurses her grandson with contentment in the shade of a zinc overhang on Charles Street, downtown Kingston.

She has much to be happy about. The matriarch of a family of seven, she will soon be moving into new quarters, one of 19 new houses built by Food for the Poor for residents of 'Big Yard', whose tenement rooms went up in flames during the Christmas season.

"Dem working fast," Panzy smiled.

Linda, another household head, who is among the nearly 100 people left homeless by the fire, commented: "Nineteen houses are up. They are working on the flooring now. After this, the Water Commission will put in meters. We will each pay $800 and then $150 each month over a four-year period for the electricity. It costs $8,000 to do each house and they know we do not have all of that now."

Linda said the size of the houses -- a large bedroom with a porch -- was limited because of the number of families in need of housing. It would be a tight squeeze for her family of 10, but it's much better than the house they had before the fire, she said.

"This is much better because the other was so old and shabby. Even when the bus pass, people would just look and stare," she continued.

The mother of five children and three grandchildren, told The Gleaner she lost everything in the fire and is looking forward to getting out of the New Hope Primary School where she has been sheltering.

Yet to be constructed is a communal bathing area with toilet facilities.

Speculation is that the Christmas fire was caused by children playing with fire which began at one house and quickly spread to the others. Thousands of dollars in personal property went up in flames or was lost to looters.