Help Re-build Courtney "Budi By" Johnson's One Room House

Hey everybody! My name is Thomas "TommyB" Boyce and I live in Ottawa, Canada.

Over the years vacationing in a rented villa in Jamaica I have made a lot of local friends. Our family has been going to the same area on the north shore of Jamaica (Trelawny Parish) for over 15 yrs. I like to snorkel and wingfoil long distances and walk up to town and back frequently. I stop and talk to anyone who is interested in a conversation. I have met many fishermen, spear fishermen, merchants, musicians, townsfolk and have collected a lot of Jamaican buddies. One of my friends is a 62 yr old spear fisherman named Budi By (I call him Booty Boy for fun). His real name Courtney Johnson. BTW: Everyone has multiple nicknames in Jamaica and often you never get to know people’s real names unless you specifically ask them.

Budi By, like many people in the region, lives in poverty. Of all my Jamaican spearfishing buddies, his living situation (accommodations & income) is the poorest. I would like to help out Budi By and his sister Lou by gathering a relatively small amount of money together to completely rebuild Budi By’s one room shack and help Lou finish her small two room house. They live on the same plot of family land with a nephew who has a sturdy one room house. I have researched local building material costs on my latest trip down to Jamaica and figure we could get the job done for between $5000 - $7500 CAD. This would upgrade his house to a sturdy cinder block structure, with a porch for shade, that would be able to withstand hurricanes. His current plywood shack is rotten and a disaster waiting to happen if big winds come.

To jump start the project, I will be sending Budi By some of my personal money for a wheelbarrow, bags of cement and two piles of aggregate (sand and gravel). This way he can extend his house foundation to the east in order to double the footprint and start the work immediately. Once the foundation is doubled, I hope to have the rest of the donated money available for the house building materials (cinderblocks, more cement and aggregate, lumber, plywood, doors, windows and metal roofing).

As of March 4th, 2025 we have about $3675 CAD raised. I just wire transferred $3500 CAD to a building supply store in the nearest Jamaican town. AJAG Hardware & Decor has opened up a pre-paid account for Budi By and Lou. In the Next month or so, I hope to collect $1500 - $2500 CAD more to conclude this Charity Project.

I will be back in Jamaica for March Break 2025 to check on progress and help Budy By and Lou with the project.

Currently, (March 5th) the foundation has been dug out and the first rows of concrete blocks have been laid. Within a few days I will be able to personally check on the project, help out a bit and take some pictures and videos. Stay tuned for more information.

I hope you will join me on this mission to re-build Budi By's house & and finish Lou's place. I will keep adding lots of pictures as proof of progress on this generous mission. You can see these pictures on my Facebook Posts and on this Go Fund Me Page.

Regards, and thank you for any donation you can afford.

TommyB. ; )

Here is an image from a video sent to me on May 10th. The construction is well on its way!

Budi By with his speargun.

Lou Johnson (Budi By’s sister)

Front of Budi By’s current plywood house.

West Side of Budi By's Plywood House

North side of Budi By's plywood house. The extended cinderblock and stone foundation for the new house will be built to the left.

My sketch of Budi By’s new house. Concrete block construction.

My buddy Andrew’s rendering of our solid house project.

First load of concrete blocks have arrived.

Thank you so much for your generosity,

TommyB. : )