Three families have been rescued from appalling living conditions as Food For The Poor (FFTP) and Courts Guyana partnered to present them with new homes. The families were on Tuesday given a ray of hope as they turned the keys to their very own, newly-constructed Cummings Park, E Field Sophia homes.
This housing initiative provided much-needed shelter and comfort for about 20 persons, inclusive of elders, children, fire victims and a disabled individual who were once either homeless or forced to survive in poverty-stricken conditions. The beneficiaries were the families of Joseph Roberts, June Ann Bess and Monica Charles.
Staff of Food For The Poor and Unicomer officially handing over the symbolic keys to the families benefiting from their housing initiative
Joseph Roberts, a father of nine, has been weathering his days in a feeble shack for the past 20 years. With his nine children and three grandchildren, the man and his wife were forced to sleep in a shed adjoining their home. It was not until the Chairman of the Cummings Park area, Eugene Lewis was made aware of his plight that the Roberts family was given a chance at comfort and safety.
Roberts explained that the family was extremely appreciative of the donation and overjoyed at the facilities available in their new home.
Meanwhile, June Ann Bess and her differently abled son were victims of a fire, nearly a year ago. The emotional mother told this newspaper that they were out on Easter Sunday last year and they returned home to chaos as all of their belongings were destroyed in the fire.
The other beneficiary, Monica Charles and her two daughters were practically living in a swamp when her mother assisted by offering them a part of her property so that they would be able to receive one of the sponsored houses.
Speaking at the handing-over ceremony was FFTP Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kent Vincent, who explained that this housing initiative was in keeping with the objectives of the organisation.
The CEO also pointed out that such an initiative would not have been possible without the support of FFTP’s cooperative partners, and thanked the Managing Director of Unicomer (Courts’ parent company), Clyde De Haas, who was present at the handing over, for helping to sponsor the project.
In addition to sponsoring the construction of the homes, Courts Guyana also surprised the families with furniture and equipment.
The 25 feet wide and 30 feet long homes consist of two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and bath. Construction cost approximately $1.1 million, with an additional $2 million for furnishings. The financing of this project was undertaken by the Unicomer company while the logistics were managed by FFTP.
