Five persons from La Parfaite Harmonie, Region Three, and Cross and Leopold Streets, Georgetown received the keys to their brand-new home from the Ministry of Housing and Water on Wednesday.
The handing-over ceremony took place during the launch of the ministry’s Core Home Support and Home Improvement Subsidy mobile application at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal.
Several of the beneficiaries who spoke with the Department of Public Information (DPI) expressed joy after finally receiving the keys to their new homes.
Beneficiary, Savitri Persaud said the new home is a big deal for herself and family. “My family will be comfortable and I am happy that I received my keys today,” an elated Persaud stated.
Pauline Harry, 67, was beyond excited about her home and said “While I was out of my house, I was very uncomfortable. I was here and there…So, I am finally glad that I will be going back to a home.”
Single mother, Juann Melville told DPI, “We got to see the unfolding of our new home. And that was the exciting part about it. Just to see everything about the foundation started to build and coming up,” Melville said.
Meanwhile, Paulette Niles extended gratitude to the ministry and the government for providing her with a house, as she could not have afforded to construct one on her own.
“I have had my house lot for a couple of years…My sister and I heard about this initiative and we went ahead and applied…I attended every meeting…and both of us got through,” the woman disclosed.
The core home project falls under the Ministry of Housing and Water-Central Housing and Planning Authority’s (CHPA) Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme (AHUAP) and is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
In addition to the keys, the families were also provided with the electrical certificates.
During the ceremony, Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal reemphasised that the programme is to improve the livelihoods of persons in the urban and the peri-urban areas of Georgetown, through the provision of better access, adequate housing, and basic infrastructure.
“Through this programme, we have been able to upgrade roads and drains. To date, we have built 73 core homes. We have disbursed just under 500 subsidies to various beneficiaries. We have been able to collaborate directly with community leaders…,” Minister Croal outlined.
Meanwhile, Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues stated that the core home support and the home improvement subsidy are two important components of the programme, as a means of providing affordable and sustainable housing to the beneficiaries.
Previously, the scope of the core home initiative included communities from Georgetown to Grove on the East Bank of Demerara, up to La Bonne Intention, East Coast of Demerara, as well as Westminster, Onderneeming, Recht-Door-Zee, Lust en Rust, and Parfaite Harmonie Phase II. However, the ministry increased the limit to include 19 more settlements along the East Coast of Demerara.