The long awaited multimillion dollar Hugo Chavez Centre for Rehabilitation and Reintegration located at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice, was opened yesterday and is expected to provide services to nearly 200 persons.
The new two-storey building contains medical, recreational, kitchen, conference, training and dining facilities, and can house 100 males and 80 females. It was built through a partnership arrangement between the Government of Guyana and the Government of Venezuela. Construction started in 2010 and US$2M was donated by the Government of Venezuela while the Guyana government provided $100M.
The dedication plaque was unveiled by President Donald Ramotar and Venezuelan Ambassador to Guyana Reina Margarita Arratia Diaz.
The facility is yet to start admitting people, and Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Jennifer Webster, said that they are waiting to fill the post of administrator for the facility, and as soon as that is done they will begin admissions. When asked about the criteria for admission into the home, Webster responded that she could not say offhand. She also said that the facility will not be housing mentally disturbed patients when asked about who would be kept there, and described the aim as training persons in order to assist them in rehabilitating their lives.
She stated in her address that “the Centre will also provide land, which will be utilised gainfully in agricultural production pursuits by residents of the centre. The centre endeavours to transform the lives of its occupants so as to enable them to become disciplined and productive members of society.”
Minister Webster also said that she hopes that they could continue to benefit from the Venezuelan government “in the initiation of the activities of the centre, particularly in the form of training and expertise of its personnel in this area.”
Ambassador Diaz noted in her speech that, “The aim of things like this is to provide medical [services], food, education and skills and to allow the reinsertion of the homeless into their families and society…” She added that she hopes that the facility fulfils its objectives.
Meanwhile, President Ramotar applauded the generosity of the Venezuelan government. He also said that they will strive to continue to provide adequate shelter for the less fortunate, as well as opportunities for access to affordable housing.
The president also said that the shelter is an indication of their togetherness in thinking and that Guyana has benefited from the policies of the late president Chavez such as the PetroCaribe agreement. He also outlined the other areas in which Chavez had benefited Guyana and it is because of this, President Ramotar said, that they could not have not named the shelter after him.
