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GT&T donates $300,000 to National Veterans’ Home
– committee appeals for donations
As part of living up to its obligation of giving back to society, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) yesterday donated $300,000 to the construction of the National Veterans’ Home, located in Lamaha Springs, Georgetown.
Construction of this home commenced in 2006, and according to head of the fund-raising committee, Col (Ret’d) Carl Morgan, the construction of the facility slowed earlier in the year, because of the pace at which the committee received donations.
Maj. Gen (Ret’d) Joseph Singh (right) hands over the cheque to head of the fund-raising committee, Carl Morgan.
He explained that construction on the facility is determined by the money at hand.
The total cost of the building of the structure is estimated at $50 million, of which $14 million has already been spent.
Morgan is appealing to donor agencies to contribute financially to the completion of the structure, which they are hoping to be finished by November next year.
The Veterans’ Home, which is the first of its kind to be established in Guyana, will house ex-long-serving members of the Guyana Defence Force.
It will be a 12-bed facility that can be expanded to 16 beds.
Col Morgan noted that when the idea for the home was proposed, it was conceived as a three-storey building, estimated to cost some $70 million. But due to the length of time it would take to construct such a facility, it was decided to construct a two-storey structure, so that people can see that something is being done.
Morgan added that if there is a need to expand, the committee will build another facility in a different part in the country.
So far, the committee has received financial support from overseas-based ex-soldiers, corporate entities and from the local private sector.
Special mention was made to the late David de Caries who upon passing the area one day, saw the sign and immediately donated a $50,000 cheque to assist in the construction.
Construction ongoing at the National Veterans
Another major donor to the construction, Col Morgan said, was the widow of Major Michael December, whom he said makes a substantial donation every year. Serving members of GDF donate every quarter.
“These soldiers have served all over Guyana…and it is through their sacrifice that the map of Guyana is still the way it is. A lot of people don’t realize it,” Col Morgan told reporters at today’s ceremony.
Chief Executive Officer of GT&T, Major General (Ret’d) Joseph Singh, said that a national programme was established to raise funds for the Theatre Guild and the same can be done for the National Veterans’ Home.
“Soldiers do not serve in a very compartmentalised way. They serve the nation and we have an obligation to look after them…in the same way that the veterans from the First and Second World Wars were in a sense looked after,” Singh said.
He appealed for broad-based support, devoid of politics, and more concern about the sacrifice and contribution made by soldiers of the 60s and 70s.
“It doesn’t do our morale any good to see people who have put their lives on the line, having to beg, having to sleep on the streets…That certainly is degrading and it is below the kind of dignity with which they served and contributed to this nation,” he noted.
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