A home for the holidays: 5 families receive core homes

Just in time for Christmas day, five families will have a place to call home, after the Housing Ministry performed a miracle of gifting them keys to their new core homes.
For new homeowners: Tandasey O’Neil, Candase Wrights, Burton Kelly, Antonio Alexis and Hilbert Pilgrim, it is a new lease of life to finally have a house of their own.
One of the beneficiaries, Burton Kelly, expressed his gratitude, stating that the new home is a significant upgrade from the small wooden makeshift dwelling he once occupied.
“Today is a new phase in my life. I am so thankful,” Kelly said as he expressed his appreciation to the Government and IDB.
Meanwhile, Candase Wrights, a mother of five, shared her joy at being able to provide a better home for her family. Coming from humble beginnings, she spoke of the relief from the financial burden of rent. She described this initiative as “a change to someone’s life”.
“This is a bittersweet moment because you know the struggle when you have rent and bills to pay and then to know how to manage finances. This would be a big step that you don’t have to worry about this part anymore, about rent paying and you will have current so that the children could study more effectively at night,” she said.

Another beneficiary, Tandasey O’Neil, described the home as a true Christmas miracle. She shared her difficulties in renting a home previously, which forced her to reside with a relative. Now with this ‘Christmas present’, the mother of three shared that she can focus on her children.
“It’s a Christmas present, it came just in time for Christmas and it’s a blessing…I have three biological children and it will be very nice for us to have our own home. One of the best things about it is that it’s debt-free so I wouldn’t have to worry about paying a mortgage and I can focus on investing in [my children] a little more,” said O’Neil.
The Electrical Certificate and Completion Certificate were handed over by the Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, alongside Deputy Director of Community Development, Donell Bess-Bascom and staff on Friday.
The homes, constructed under the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme (AHUAP), are funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and executed through the Housing Ministry’s Central Housing and Planning Authority. Priced at nearly $5 million each, these homes offer two bedrooms, a kitchen, and bathroom facilities.

Minister Croal emphasised that this initiative is part of the Ministry’s broader programme to assist vulnerable households. For him, it is a testimony of the steadfast efforts of ensuring Guyanese are afforded the opportunity of homeownership.
The Minister expressed, “This is another testimony of what we’ve been doing at the Ministry of Housing and Water, as part of our programme. It’s not just about the allocating of lots but also to encourage homeownership and also address a niche, in terms of society and those in different categories.”
The AHUAP boundary encompasses, the La Parfaite Harmonie Housing Development in Region Three; Georgetown to Grove on the East Bank of Demerara, Region Four; from Georgetown to La Bonne Intention and nineteen other select communities up to Victoria on the East Coast of Demerara, Region Four.
Within the AHUAP framework, Minister Croal highlighted that more than 75 homes have already been handed over.
“A lot of investments have been made under this programme. For example, within this cluster, we have spent about $1.2 billion on the construction of core houses. In addition to that, this programme also sees the subsidies, so the beneficiaries had to contribute $100,000 and earn an emolument below a certain bracket.”
Under the programme, some $800 million has also been expended toward essential infrastructure such as roads, drainage networks, and street lights, and the disbursement of Home Improvement Subsidies.
“Now that the year is coming to an end, certainly it has been a lot of work and we’re here to do work and deliver on a mandate,” Croal voiced.
Plans were unveiled for rehabilitating a community ground and constructing a multipurpose facility in the region. Simultaneously, over $60 million has been utilised so far on the East Bank of Demerara for core home construction and the distribution of Home Improvement Subsidies.