Dear Editor,
I refer to a letter which appeared in your edition of December 10, captioned ‘Samaroo misinformed about homes built by Food for the Poor at St Cuthbert’s’ where Mr Leon Davis, Director of Food for the Poor Guyana (FFTP), replied to your columnist Shaun Michael Samaroo. As a consequence of social necessity and given my purpose in life, I have developed a respect for Mr Davis. Through his organization FFTP, five spanking new housing schemes in Region 2, Essequibo Coast have been built, thus helping a most vulnerable group of people, who perhaps would never have had a home in their lifetime. I am a professional person being an American-trained dental technician, and as such I can appreciate progress of many kinds. Mr Davis and FFTP have changed the landscape of housing in strategic areas in Essequibo that time passed by. With the disintegration of sawmills and the present cost of wood those beneficiaries of the hundreds of homes could not have built a house on their own.
These schemes were so selected that there is no need for drainage or bridges, and the added facilities will advance a culture of hygiene and community life. There is a pure water supply in evidence in the schemes, inclusive of Siriki Red village, where FFTP has made a portable sawmill and tractor available. What is notable is that overseas donors are always present when these schemes are declared open. At present farmers, in an exclusive farming area in Warapana high lands, Pomeroon River, are anticipating FFTP help for about thirty houses. Food for the Poor help is complementary to agricultural production.
Yours faithfully,
Isahak Basir
