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Most of Kingston fire victims still homeless
– Housing Ministry processing applications
Most of the victims of the fire that destroyed the three-storey wooden structure at 48 Barrack and High Streets, Kingston, last month are still homeless.
Twenty of those persons were given extension to stay at the Guyana Relief Council (GRC) Lot X West of Public Road, Ruimveldt until the end of May 2011.
RC assisted 37 persons (20 adults, 10 children and seven babies). Nineteen elected to stay at the facility.
According to GRC, the council will constantly review the situation of these persons and is willing to further extend their stay as long as it is financially viable to do so.
The burnt out structure at High and Barrack Streets
The Council further informs that its Temporary Shelter, which is at no cost to the residents, can accommodate a maximum of 100 persons at any one time and this facility was offered to all the persons affected by the fire.
Only 20 persons, among them babies and children, opted to accept the offer.
During their stay at the Shelter the GRC provides residents with three meals including porridge and other essentials for the babies. The Council also assisted in outfitting the school aged children with school uniforms to ensure their return to school.
In addition, the victims are supplied with all the basic amenities such as toiletries, janitorial supplies, clothing, footwear and baby items to aid them with the rehabilitation of their lives and finding alternative permanent accommodation.
The seven-member Ramascindo family is expected to leave the Shelter for a rented apartment today and GRC would assist them as much as possible with material necessities to aid the transition from the Shelter to their rented apartment.
For the year so far the Council aided 177 persons who suffered as a result of disasters.
However, at High Street, Kingston persons were still occupying the burnt out site. A tarpaulin has been placed over a section where persons reside.
“We apply for house lots and we waiting on housing to call we, but we could do with any help we get,” fire victims contended.
According to Minister of Housing Irfan Alli, most of the fire victims never applied for a house lot and after the fire at Kingston some applied and those applications are in process.
DIGICEL (Guyana) had assisted with $500,000 in the form of toiletries, bottles of water, clothing, school supplies and cellular phones. Leader of the Alliance for Change, Raphael Trotman, and several executive members had visited the Kingston fire victims and handed over numerous boxes of clothing and toys; Eric Phillips, of the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA), Mings Products and Services Chief Executive Officer, Stanley Ming, The Benschop Foundation and many other persons also assisted.
Findings revealed that someone was cooking in one of the 26 rooms and might have forgotten the lighted kerosene stove and ventured outside, which later caused the building to be engulfed by flames.
Fire Chief Marlon Gentle had previously told reporters that the building was earmarked for demolition since 2007.
According to Gentle, the City Engineer’s Department had also encountered difficulties getting the occupants out of the building, even though it was deemed unsafe.
The GRC extended gratitude to International Pharmaceutical Agency and to Banks DIH Limited for their donation of food supplies towards providing meals for these persons. The Council is appealing to the general public and business community for donations in the form of food items, toiletries, janitorial supplies and monetary donations to facilitate the provision of further relief to those in the shelter.
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