Three families get new, furnished homes

Apr 12, 2017 News

-call it an “Easter blessing”

A couple with 10 children, a single mother who had been living in a shack on swamped lands,

Sporting their new house! Joseph Roberts (standing right, at the top of the stairs) and his wife (second r) pose with their 10 children and two grandchildren.

and a differently-abled woman whose home was reduced to ashes, were all beneficiaries of a benign mission undertaken by Food For The Poor Guyana (FFTP) Incorporated and Unicomer Group – the parent company of Courts Guyana Incorporated.
It entailed constructing, painting and furnishing three brand new two-bedroom houses in Sophia, Greater Georgetown. An official handing over was done yesterday.
Joseph Roberts, his wife and their 10 children, had been living in the same grossly inadequate structure for the last 20 years.
Even with the addition of two grandchildren, the Roberts’s humble abode remained the same. That is, until Eugene Lewis, Chairwoman of the Cummings Park Multipurpose Group intervened.
She contacted FFTP and assistance was promptly mobilised. Engagements were had with representatives of Courts Guyana, and the international company hopped on board to fund the project.
At the cost of $9M, the entity was able to construct and furnish the houses that were built in accordance with FFTP’s 25 x 30 specifications.
“It’s an Easter blessing,” Roberts maintained.

June Ann Bess and her differently-abled son will no longer have to battle for accommodation at the night shelter.

He said life had had its challenges, but he and his family have always benefited from divine intervention.
“God always open doors for us, so that we can gain something where we could be good,” Roberts said.
He reflected that even though he and his family lived in a small home that left much to be desired, most of their needs were miraculously met.
“Every one of my children went to school. From nursery, all the way to secondary, all of them got a good education. God was there with us,” Roberts smiled contently.
He kept repeating words of gratitude to those who played a part in providing his family with a comfortable home; all the while, oblivious to the surprise that would come.
Before the handing over ceremony ended, a Courts delivery truck pulled up in front of Roberts’s home, loaded with furniture and appliances.
“I really couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I thought the house was the best thing that could happen, but now the house gon get all these new things, I just can’t explain how grateful I feel,”

After years of living on swamped lands, Monica Charles’ finally had a yard that her daughters can play in.

an ecstatic Roberts added.
Each of the three families was the recipient of a television set, a living room suite, a refrigerator, a four-burner gas stove, and bunk beds. The houses were also outfitted with the necessary wiring for electricity.
Another grateful recipient of the “Easter blessing,” is single mother, Monica Charles.
“I have been through a lot,” the 30-year-old woman said, trying to withhold tears.
Raising her two daughters in an almost submerged shack was far from being easy, but Charles said that she grew stronger and managed to survive the struggles that came.
“I have God to thank. He helped me to raise my girls, even despite everything. My family at Church was also a great help, so I have come a long way.”
As for June Ann Bess, the past year had been a battle. A few days before Easter last year, her house went up in flames. Every night since then, she and her son, who is deaf and mute, have had to fight for accommodation at a shelter in Georgetown.
“It really hard, you got to hide everything. Junkies and all are in there. I ended up getting very sick from staying there, but I still had to continue. I didn’t have a choice,” Bess explained.
She is still unable to understand how her house was reduced to rubble in the first place.
“I didn’t have electricity, I wasn’t stealing electricity, and I didn’t leave any stove or anything on. When I came home from work that afternoon, nothing was left. Everything I worked hard for was gone,” an emotional Bess recalled.
Even as she was struggling to cope with her newfound homelessness, tragedy struck again. An accident resulted in Bess losing mobility in her left arm. This made it difficult for her to get and keep jobs.
“I was cleaning fuh (City Hospital’s name given), and I managed to work fuh couple well months. I didn’t tell the people that I got a problem with my hand. I used to hide and do my work, but a day, one of the managers see me, and she said that she gon have to let me go, because she could get in trouble fuh hiring me in the first place,” Bess explained.
She eventually got around to accepting the circumstances that had befallen, hoping and praying that each passing day would bring her closer to a blessing she was optimistic would come. Her prayers were answered.
This year’s Easter celebrations will not reach Bess homeless and begging for refuge.
On the contrary, she and her differently-abled son plan to spend the Easter holiday wrapped up in the comforts of their brand new home – outfitted with all appliances she can once again have the joy of using.
Together, the three families are calling on Guyana to support the entities that are working to make the country a better place. (Rehana Ahamad)