The move to a more spacious and comfortable community took almost four years for some former residents of Lombard and Broad streets, Charlestown, who say they are grateful to have finally settled into their own space.
The former Lombard Street residents were moved to Prospect on the East Bank of Demerara between late 2019 and early 2020. Some 20 families left the location at Broad and Lombard Streets where some had lived for over thirty years. Their living space at the time was cramped as sometimes multiple families lived in tiny houses/apartments there.
The move and construction of the homes came through a collaboration between the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) and Food for the Poor Guyana to the tune of $36 million. Twenty two-bedroom 20 x16 homes were constructed in the Prospect area on the East Bank of Demerara.
The twenty families were officially handed keys to their new homes in February of this year as part of what former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CH&PA, Lelon Saul, had called the first phase of the “Broad and Lombard Streets Relocation and Resettlement Project”.
During a recent visit to the Prospect area, where those residents are now located after years of being promised houses and house lots, Stabroek News found that they have adapted to their spaces quite well and are happy to have been able to settle in. The smell of food permeated the air as those who were at home were preparing lunch. It was in stark contrast to what had been observed when this newspaper had visited the Lombard Street area.
“I never go back down to Broad Street” said Anita Dash, whose happiness was quite evident when she spoke about her move to the new community with her family.
Dash, who had previously resided at Broad and Lombard Streets for over 30 years, told Stabroek News that since moving, she is now living her dream as she is now the owner of one of two shops in the small community. “I love it here. I didn’t have a shop when we were there at Lombard Street… Well they didn’t have any shop around this area and that was my dream. I have my home now and a business, it’s wonderful,” she cheerily exclaimed.
Dash admitted that business is sometimes a bit slow but she is still happy to earn something at the end of each day. The grandmother of three, who usually babysits her grandchildren, has also started a kitchen garden in her backyard, where she has reaped bora, pumpkin, tomato, and peppers. She indicated that she has always been interested in having her own garden and now has the space to do so.
When asked to describe the move to the community on the East bank, she replied, “We used to come up every week and do something on the house and them thing till one Sunday was a holiday, when I come up the weekend I never go down back to Broad Street. I come up here and I like the place and I never go down back. When I go down back to town is when I went and vote and from then I never jump in a bus or car to leave this place.”
So far she has taken on a number of projects in her own space and has enhanced the comforts of her property by making a walkway in her yard all the way to her kitchen garden.
When asked about the preparations for the Christmas season, Dash stated that her daughter, with whom she lives, loves the season and is always enthusiastic, so it’s no surprise that they have decorated the home for the season.
During the recent visit, this newspaper also met with resident Whitney John, who stated that she is happy with her new home, where she resides with her partner and child. She noted that after settling in the area, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. However, they are doing as best as they can during these times to maintain income and stay safe. Prior to the pandemic John said she worked in cosmetology but since having her child, coupled with the pandemic restrictions, she hasn’t had a chance to work as she would like. As it relates to the Christmas season she stated, “everything good but slow”. John disclosed that they were not doing any extra preparations for the season but are grateful to have a bigger space for her family.
While she said settling in the area was fine she noted that the only issue that has affected them is flooding of their yard. “We got a problem with the yard but what we gah do is we got to fill it… we working to do it ourselves,” she explained.
A mother of three, Marissa (only name given), who previously lived at Lombard Street for about 19 years, has also settled in with her family and noted that she, her husband, and children, are comfortable in the area. During the ongoing pandemic, Marissa stated that her daughter, who is now preparing for Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), has been able to access online classes before schools were reopened.
“We have been able to do some online learning but I managed to get the internet late so she… lost like half of the term. I tried in Broad Street there but you know due to not having your own [space] it was very hard to get that,” she said.
With the move, she and her husband were able to plant plantain suckers that they are waiting to reap very soon. She noted that they decided to do the crop after moving and are even looking into having a kitchen garden where they hope to plant and reap a few vegetables.
Better roads
Transportation has been a challenge for Marrisa since moving to the community but she indicated that they are coping. “For me when I need to go out I would leave from like 4:30 in the morning with my husband just to go with the taxi, $500 to go out to the road (East Bank Public Road) and $500 to come in back. What they [taxi drivers] are saying presently is that seeing that the road is doing, they said as soon as it’s done and everything is smooth they said the fare will drop.”
Another shop owner, Maurice Primo, could be seen behind the counter of his shop just a stone’s throw away from Dash’s business.
When he spoke with this newspaper, Primo said, “We’re much [more] comfortable and better than we were before.” He too is grateful for a better space for his three children to enjoy.
“They now have more space to run and play, the environment [is] much cleaner and everything is good so far,” he said.
Primo added that his family was not doing much preparation for the Christmas season as they are still getting settled. The shopkeeper reminded that it has not been a year since they moved and are now really getting fully settled.
He noted that the business is now progressing as more people settle into the community. However he too echoed the same concern as Marissa and indicated that transportation is hard as it takes $1,200 to get to Georgetown and back. “Without transportation for yourself it’s hard. We would need better roads, that’s the only thing for now,” he said.
When this publication visited, it was observed that a few of the yards were flooded as a result of the current rainy season. Like Whitney John, Marissa expressed her concern about the flooding of the land, which she says occurs whenever there is rainfall. “We have been flooding all the time, actually every time rain falls. Rain could fall, you won’t say heavy, and the whole yard flood,” she said. She, like many of her other neighbours, had boards placed in sections of the yard to be able to move around without slipping in the slushy mud caused by the rain.
Further, she noted that they were able to speak with officials at the Ministry of Housing and were told that they would have to speak with engineers to assess their needs and assist with drainage works.
Meanwhile, John told Stabroek News that they were told that they will not be able to do their own revetments individually for the drains in the area, as all have to be done together.
The residents all expressed their gratitude at being able to live in their own homes with space for their children to play when talking about making the move to the community.
