Former prison officer Roxanne Winfield, who was left disabled following the deadly February 23rd, 2002 Camp Street jailbreak, was yesterday presented with a new home by the Rotary Club of Stabroek (RCOS).
The newly-built disability-friendly home , which is located on the main access road at Nabaclis, East Coast Demerara, was constructed within the last year with assistance from Habitat for Humanity, , Office of the President, the Guyana Prison Service (GPS), GLASS Inc, the Hand in Hand Group, Food for the Poor, Ansa McAl Trading Ltd and TCL.
“Our nation remains indebted to her for her bravery,” the RCOS said in a statement after the handing over yesterday, while expressing thanks to Winfield for her exemplary service to the people of Guyana.
The RCOS noted that it was inspired to pursue the initiative after being captivated by Winfield when it responded to a public call for the donation of a wheelchair to her in February of last year, which marked the 10th anniversary of her shooting.
In the attack, Winfield was shot in the head at point-blank range by one of five prisoners during their breakout from the Camp Street Prison, where she was manning the inner gate.
Confronted by Andrew Douglas, Dale Moore, Shawn Browne, Mark Fraser and Troy Dick, Winfield stood her ground and attempted to thwart their escape by throwing away the keys that they were seeking.
Browne shot her in the head, while one of her colleagues, Troy Williams, who attempted to help her, was fatally stabbed. Winfield survived her injuries but is now unable to adequately care for herself and she also has speech impairment.
RCOS was captivated by Winfield’s “positive attitude, her jovial disposition and her obvious inner strength” in spite of everything that she has endured. “And so it was at this time that the club decided that Roxanne needed a disability friendly home to if nothing else, enhance her mobility at home,” it noted.
Winfield’s aunt, Joylin Collins, gifted the land to her. Rotary, which is a non-profit organisation that implements project through fundraising, sponsorships and partnerships, successfully engaged Habitat for Humanity (HFH) to collaborate on the project to build Winfield a home. HFH also offered to prepare the architectural design and costing.
Rotarians also managed to get monetary assistance from President Donald Ramotar, who approved what was the highest monetary contribution to the project, as well as the GPS, which contributed all the labour needed for the project. The home was completely built by prisoners of the Lusignan Prison, according to the RCOS, which added that it will work with the GPS to ensure all amenities are installed.
The group also highlighted the contributions of Food for the Poor and, in particular, Jimeel Davis, who it said contributed a lot of the building materials, and also donated the refrigerator and other household items.
“With the help of these and many other corporate and individual sponsors, the RCOS [was] able to complete this disability friendly home for Roxy, and in so doing, helping her to realise a lifelong dream,” it added.
The RCOS also singled out the Guyana Relief Council, Wartsila Guyana Inc, P & P Insurance Brokers, the Canadian High Commission, the Centre for Policy Analysis & Institutional Develop-ment as well as Patrick Falconer, Jennifer Falconer, Patricia Plummer and Sharon Lalljee Richard for its thanks for their donations towards the furnishing of the home. It also noted the contribution of its legal counsel Sase Gunraj, who provided his services free of cost to ensure the transfer of the land title to Winfield.
