Food For The Poor to the rescue… Murdered Berbice teen’s family among 16 to receive homes

Feb 18, 2018 News

---

Several families across Region Six benefitted from houses constructed by Food for The Poor Guyana Chapter under the organisation’s housing programme.
The initiative was powered by the St. Francis Community Developers, one of the leading Non-Governmental Organisations in the country and based in Portuguese Quarters, Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice.
The housing programme was birthed in 2004 and thus far, Food For the Poor Guyana has constructed over 3000 houses in Regions One, Two, Four, Five and Six with the outlying areas soon to be added to the list.
Additionally, in 2017, over 100 homes were constructed with about three dozen made possible in Region Six thus far.
This statistics was made available by the Project Officer for Food For the Poor Guyana Inc., Ms Andrea Benjamin, at the formal handing over ceremony of 10 homes to needy families.
She also announced the commencement of six more houses. The ceremony was hosted at the St. Francis Community Developers head office in Port Mourant with all the beneficiaries present.
Alex Montgomery-Foster, CEO of the Berbice-based NGO highlighted that many times when the “cameras, glamour and sympathy” have subsided, it is the people and their individual problems that are left. He was at the time making reference to families who would have suffered major tragedies. Some of those said families are now proud homeowners of the beautiful structure.
One of those people, he said was the family of little Leonard Archibald, who was murdered in his village- Brothers, East Bank Berbice.
Foster charged, “This woman was in the news for weeks and months; her situation remained the same and many people used social media to embarrass the family and did nothing to help, although they made it appear as though the family was well taken care of”.
Another sad case was a wife, who was asked to stand proudly, “when the pirate attacked the fishermen and killed them.
“There was a big hooray. Her husband was one of the fishermen who was attacked at sea and thrown overboard and left to die. Food for the Poor chipped in because her husband cannot work. Now she is getting a home that will be completed before the end of 2018, without a noise,” Foster said.
“Food for the Poor with other stakeholders and St. Francis are tackling the problems when everyone else refuses to look them after or when the media blitz is finished. We are still here; there are people still working behind the scenes”, the NGO head stressed.
The ten homes with the six approved are equipped with internal sanitation facilities, water components and two bedrooms.
It was a visit to a few of the beneficiaries’ new homes that told a true story of how much the structure has impacted and changed their lives.
Kanya and Bertram Andrews together with their six children expressed pure joy after moving from a one-bedroom house at Lot 22 Liverpool Village into their painted, two-bedroom home.

Kanya said that life has improved a lot since they moved in to their spanking new home two weeks ago.
“It’s a big difference because by was the one bedroom and I have the six children. I felt very excited about the two-bedrooms because I know they will have their own room and we will have our own and the space even. We thank God; it is very beneficial for us.”
She stated that with their previous home, it was difficult for them to maneuver in the limited space available.
“We had outside toilet and bath and now it inside, so yes, this is much better now, much better now, yes!.”
Her seventeen-year-old daughter also could not contain her joy. “For me, it was very complicated because I had to sleep in one bedroom with everyone and when it’s time for me to change, it’s confusion, especially during the morning when we gotta go to school.  At this house when they are in this bedroom I can go in the other one.”
The Andrews who plant their own vegetables and fruits in their yard and sell as their main source of finance, noted that they are comfortable and grateful, especially to Foster and Food for the Poor for their generosity.
The children are ages one to sixteen with five attending school.
Another beneficiary, Sattie Ramotar, 38, who lost her husband in 2017 after he died at their home in Kilcoy North, Corentyne, Berbice, said her new home has given her hope that things will get better even without her husband at her side.
She is a mother of seven, ages three to twenty-two. She said that she is now comfortable. “We never use to have so much space. Was a little thing we lived in; abee had to sleep, cook and do all thing one place so now when we get this one place now abee feel comfortable.” Ramotar added that the building they lived in before will now be converted into a kitchen. However, it was highlighted that she is currently unable to utilize her indoor toilet and bath facilities since they are without a supply of water. They are hoping it could be rectified as soon as possible.
Additionally, one of the single parents who were among the six approved for 2018 said that she lives with her two children at Auchlyne Village, and

will see the construction of her two-bedroom house at Liverpool Village.
Winona Grey is currently a cleaner at a Neighbourhood Democratic Council and is paying $5000 a month rent, an amount she said is difficult to pay sometimes, even though small.
But with her new home, she will not be paying any rent. This, she said, will allow her to save the $5000 until she can afford to purchase a computer for her daughter, age 13, to aid in her studies.
The ten families who benefitted from the housing project and are now living comfortably in their new homes are Trevor and Caroline Ramsay of Lightown Village, East Bank, Berbice; Veera Mootoosammy Kissoon and Fizoon Hussain of Liverpool Village; Camilie Sukhai of Lonsdale Village, East Bank Berbice; Bertram and Kanya Andrews, Liverpool; Sattie Ramotar, Kilcoy; Mark and Oslyn Kerr, Fyrish Village; Samantha Samuels of Nurney Village; Rhada Luke of Manchester Village; Abigail and Walter Archibald and their 13 children of Brother’s Village; and Doowattie Somar of Hampshire Village.
The six homes approved for 2018 will go to Siskea Grey of Auchlyne Village;, Ramchand Hemchand and Priya Ramu of Chesney Front, Squatting Area; Onieka Lyte of Johanna North, Black Bush Polder; Martin Ramsarack and Rohanie Persaud of No.1 Road; Mandan Mclean and Rookmanie Ramadhar of Block 4.Tain Settlement; and Jenny Heeralall and Madramootoo Ram of Albion Front, Corentyne, Berbice.
Meanwhile, St. Francis together with the cooperation of the Disabled Community in Region Six also hosted an appreciation ceremony on Friday for Food for the Poor Guyana Inc by the disable community in Region Six.
This was done as a thank you for 200 wheelchairs donated over the past year. Requests were also made by the Disabled community for collapsible wheelchairs to facilitate easy transportation.

Many of the special needs persons stressed that it is difficult for them when accessing transportation since many drivers refuse to “pick dem up and exercise patience”. Additionally, one of the differently abled children who was present was represented by his father as they requested for a wheelchair with neck support.
Jimeel Davis, Senior Manager, Food for the Poor (Guyana) Inc, stated that the organisation has already approved one such wheelchair to assist the disabled child. One, he said, will arrive in the coming week.
He also stated that the organisation has already taken into consideration the difficulty the current lot of wheelchairs is imposing and will be upgrading their wheelchair distributions with collapsible ones.
He added that the wheelchair distribution increased three years ago when they partnered with the Free Wheelchairs Mission. He explained that wheelchairs which they give out are the exact size to fit specific recipients.
A new shipment of wheelchairs is expected in June with most of the quantity being folding ones.

---

---