The German government on Friday presented a $6M grant to the St Francis Community Developers for a guest house at the Corentyne, Berbice community.
The presentation ceremony took place at Herdmanston Lodge, where the St Francis Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) president, Alex Foster, said the funds from the grant will be used to complete a guest house.
A building has already been secured and steps are being taken to advance the project, much to the surprise of the German officials, he noted. The upper storey of the guest house will boast five self-contained rooms, which will be furnished through the Food for the Poor organisation and will be open to persons travelling across the country, including from Orealla, Upper Berbice.
Trinidad-based German ambassador to Guyana Stefan Schlueter said that Foster made a good case to the embassy for funding. He said that the grant is part of a private/public partnership, which he noted will work out well given its intention. The ambassador noted that his country is funding several projects aimed at boosting development.
According to Foster, when he first approached the German government, whose offices for this part of the region are based in Trinidad and Tobago, they had said that no funds were available. Later, while he was working in Trinidad, Foster again approached the embassy and, after reviewing the group’s extensive plans, an official decided to visit the St Francis Community Developers offices in Berbice. A second document was submitted to the Germans and this time, the response was favourable.
Foster explained that two years ago, the NGO decided to operate under a new mandate and step up its community development programme from the grassroots level. To facilitate this new mission, dubbed Project Rescue and which aims to boost persons’ educational skills and enhance other individual skills, the NGO sought funding overseas. He noted that it has received support from the Japanese government for its Grassroots Development Training Complex while the Australian government is also helping the group to construct a tilapia pond. Foster added that the St Francis group is engaging several organisations, including the United Nations and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) as it conducts its programme.
