A year ago, she struggled under the dim light of a kerosene lamp, reading and completing her studies for promotion to grade eight at the Crofts Hill Primary and Junior High School in northern Clarendon.

Today, Kadine Brown reads her books and studies under the rays of a light bulb without any strain.

The 13-year-old eighth-grade student was among scores of residents of Fenceside in Jericho, Clarendon, who got electricity for the first time last July.

The teenager is looking forward to her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations in another three years.

"I like to study more now because I don't have to strain my eye with the lamp," said Brown.

Life before electricity was miserable for the children of Fenceside. Their parents had to accompany them outside of the district in the evenings for them to play.

Today, they are especially thrilled because they are given the chance to play at home with their friends.

Despite the 'good fortune' for the residents of Fenceside, most people in the neighbouring community of Woodpass are still in the dark.

Only a few people who can afford it have undertaken to have electricity run privately into their homes.

In the meantime, others who cannot afford it plead for their day.

"I think it's time we get our light now," said Wilbert Blackwood, a pastor and resident of Woodpass.