The Amerindian hostel, which houses Indigenous persons who are in the city seeking medical attention and other services, will be rehabilitated in coming months.
Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock, during the contract signing ceremony on Wednesday, noted that the expansion of the current building, which is located on Princes Street, Georgetown, was necessary to facilitate the large influx of individuals who would stay there throughout the year.
According to the Minister, the expansion works are expected to be completed in
Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock presenting the contract to a representative of Sattaur Mohammed and Sons Construction
four months.
“The residence is in heavy demand and it is really choked without these facilities. It is expected that within four months from now we will have more space, as we would have already begun to see in this facility,” he stated.
In the 2015-2016 period, the Indigenous residence hosted a Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Social Services whereby several recommendations were made which prompted the Ministry to focus on the issues that were affecting the residents.
Upgrades were made to the main dining area; among the other works were repairs to washrooms and external works, rehabilitation of the male and female dormitories, maintenance of fence, and landfilling, all of which were completed in 2017.
Last year, the facility received a much-needed boost in the area of transportation when it acquired a minibus, which is being used to transport patients to and from the hospital.
