SFCD commissions multi-million-dollar building

Jun 16, 2008 News

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ROSE HALL TOWN, CORENTYNE — The St. Francis Community Developers commissioned a $20 million administrative building last week. This structure is part of a $2.5 billion Community Empowerment Complex and Development Village. The site is located at J.C. Chandisingh Avenue in Rose Hall Town. Flavio Rose, Vice President of the St. Francis Community Developers, explained that this project, which is the largest of its kind in Berbice, is expected to train ordinary grass roots people for leadership roles in community development across Guyana, the Caribbean and the Commonwealth.

The leaders of these groups are all ordinary persons who give unconditionally of their time and service.
The club is working with 22 groups, known as Friends of St. Francis, to enable institutional strengthening and develop human resources. Three of the groups comprising the Friends of St. Francis received funding from UNICEF for their family projects. The Albion Chapel Library and Skills Training Centre at Fyrish got $3 million for the development of their play school and for the empowerment of single parents.
The Mibicuri Community Developers received another $3 million for the purpose of providing support services for families affected by the impact of suicide in the family unit.
FACT Community Developers at Corriverton received $3.1 million to upgrade their Orphans and Vulnerable Children project’s activities in the Upper Corentyne area. Some $13 million was given to the parent body — St. Francis Community Developers — for its Family Youth and Children at Risk Project.
The donors, UNICEF, Food for the Poor Guyana, USAID/GHARP and CIDA, to name a few, usually request inter alia audited financial statements, expertise of staff, constitution of the organization, legal registration and organizational policy. To many of the grass roots organizations those requirements pose a challenge. “To us it was also a challenge, but the difference is we have most of what is required, the essentials, and our track record took us the rest of the distance.”
The actual construction of the administrative block began in October 2007 and was completed earlier this month. The contract was awarded to Jainarine Ramoo, known as
‘Brian,’of Rose Hall Town.
The building belonged to the Hamid family of Hampshire, and was located at Fyrish Village. The wooden structure was huge and had to be transported to the location in three sections. It was then re-assembled, after which the necessary rehabilitation was carried out and the concrete bottom was constructed. This two-storey structure houses on the upper flat the offices of the President, Alex Foster, the USAID/GHARP funded projects which involve voluntary counselling and testing in relation to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, conference hall and domestic facilities.
The lower level houses the UNICEF funded project, Family, Youth and Children at Risk, along with an Internet café, the Child Friendly Space and the Foster Care Umbrella Scheme (FOCUS) and other components.
The Family Youth and Children at Risk project is a large project which is supported by a number of donors and well wishers. It has several modules, including the Child Friendly Spaces, Nutritional Enhancement Programme, Foster Care Umbrella Scheme, Counselling Psychosocial Support, Technical/Training Support Department, and the Housing Project. The Family Youth and Children at Risk project deals mainly with families in crisis, disadvantaged young people, and vulnerable children. It was launched in 2000 under the name Women and Children at Risk.
There was also a sister project, dubbed Youth at Risk.  After complaints by some of the male gender that the project was biased, the two were merged and renamed Family, Youth and Children at Risk. The entire Community Empowerment Complex and Development Village would sit on a 10-acre plot of land. According to Mr. Rose, the entire Community Empowerment Complex and Development Village would consist of 17 buildings, each offering various services to compliment each other, so as to provide a comprehensive community developmental experience and training.
The structures are the administrative complex, technical/training support department, skill training centre, dormitory, cabins, social life skill centre, convention centre, kitchen extraordinaire, marketing centre, two living quarters for families at risk and vulnerable persons, instruction centre, remedial institution, museum to trade the history of the St. Francis Community Developers and their 22 support groups, the musical development centre, the gymnasium and the research and development centre.
These 17 buildings are to be put in use as they are constructed, but the entire complex should be fully operational within three years.
Foundation work for the 110 by 40 foot two storied structure for the remedial school has already been completed. This leg of the project is funded by Food for the Poor Guyana and will house the remedial training centre, classrooms and a child friendly environment. President of the St. Francis Community Developers, Alex Foster, expressed gratitude to UNICEF for their faith in the club. “They trusted us and believed in our dream of establishing this general complex.
Because of their trust, a number of other donors are now willingly coming on board to make this dream a reality. To them all, we say thank you.”
He singled out Food for the Poor Guyana for their all round investment and support in the various activities and project, “Without this support, our programmes would not have been so successful in reaching the thousands of persons we are able to support.”
The USAID/GHARP and the Commonwealth Youth Programme were also recognized for their support. The Department of Education also received plaudits for their collaborative efforts in ensuring that the school’s population would derive benefits from the various programmes of the Education Ministry.
The remedial school is expected to open its doors for the new academic year in September. Registration for admission would commence in July. The entire institution will cater for 150 students. The remedial section will be situated on the upper floor and will deal with early school leavers. On the ground flat would be the pre-nursery group.
He explained that the younger children — zero to five age group children — would receive early attention, since this is during this period that their faculties are being developed.
According to him, his group has challenged themselves to raise on their own an additional $300 million in order to bring the Community Empowerment Complex and Development Village to the desired international standard. Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Child Protection Officer of UNICEF, Doris Roos, offered kind words to the St. Francis Community Developers. “Alex and your staff, you did it! Congratulations.”
Brief remarks were also made by UNCEF Representative Johannes Wedenig, Country Director, FHI & Chief of Party, USAID/GHARP, Kwame Asiedu, Public Relations Officer of Food for the Poor Michelle Branker, and Region Six Education Officer Shafiran Bhajan.
The programme was punctuated with musical interludes. Many were in awe when the talented 16-year-old Shamena Trinidad of Fyrish Village, who is visually impaired, did her rendition of Whitney Huston’s ‘Greatest Love.’
Mr. Alex Foster spoke of the dedication and commitment of his members. He alluded to the fact that, in many instances, they go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure success. Sonja Sampson, Coordinator of the Albion Chapel Library and Skills Training Centre, said that her group launched its Protecting Children for the Future Project on May 9.
Under this project, parents and children are to be empowered alike.  At Fyrish, the Greater Glory Play School has 29 children on roll, many of whom are from single-parent families. These children are afforded an environment that is child-friendly while the parents are out making a dollar.
This centre is opened from 07:30 to 18:30 hours Mondays through Fridays. Deborah Rambarran of the Mibicuri Community Developers pointed out that their centre would also offer an Internet café and training in information technology for residents of the four schemes comprising the Black Bush Polder.
Annette Jaundoo of FACT Community Developers at Corriverton explained that her group was established to help persons in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Seven acres of land at Limlair are to be developed to assist single-parent families in that village.
This is funded by Food for the Poor Guyana Limited and will entail a chicken farm and agricultural development. This comes on stream in December. Mr Foster said that there are 16 children on role at the Eversham Community Developers Day Care Centre. Come September, eight other play schools are to be commissioned by the 22 collaborating partners of St. Francis Community Developers. Together, these facilities would accommodate some 200 children from across the region.
There are 52 Child Friendly Spaces in East Berbice, and one on the western side of the Berbice River .Mr. Foster also spoke of other achievements of his club and their support groups. One of the most outstanding accomplishments was the President of the Mibicuri Community Developers, Jacqueline Cummings-Johnson, holding the title of United Nations Population Fund Youth Ambassador for the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean. The nomination was made possible after she represented the St. Francis Community Developers in Jamaica in 2006.Mr. Foster noted, “We are not only developing our physical facilities, but we are focusing also, with a concurring effort, on the development of our human resources to cope with emerging needs and challenges.”
Earlier in the day, the delegation toured the locations to which their funding was given.

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