A poverty-stricken man of Stewartville, West Coast Deme-rara will soon be moved from his dilapidated shack into a brand new house that the Men on Mission (MoM) initiative of Region Three is constructing for him.
Vernon Vincent Gray has been living in impoverished conditions for several years now. A member of his church felt he deserved a better life and recommended him to MoM for a house. He is elated and thankful to the MoM team because their effort will help to change his life. The wooden house is equipped with a huge bedroom, a washroom and space for dining and living rooms.
This is the first project for MoM in Region Three and the secretary, Halim Khan, told Stabroek News (SN): “You see where this man was living? This would be like a palace for him. Some people would have had a goat pen or a fowl pen much better than where he is living.”
He said the house could have been donated to a single parent with about three or four children. But noted that “at the same time we don’t want to give him a house that is the size of the shack he has… We want him to be comfortable.”
Regional chairman and chairman of MoM, Inshan Ayube told this newspaper that their aim is not only to build or renovate homes for people, but to provide training and to work with the youth in the area of sports. The primary objective is for community enhancement, especially in depressed communities that have drainage issues.
The team also encouraged the youth who need jobs, especially in skilled areas to contact the region so that they can be placed at the necessary agencies.
The new building is located in front of Vernon’s shack, on a plot of land that he inherited from his grandfather.
He gave SN a tour of the surroundings and this newspaper observed a rusted padlock on the wooden door. Vernon has not used the door for a long time because he has misplaced the keys.
He enters through the wooden window that is right next to his bed. From outside, this newspaper noticed among his few belongings, a pink bicycle, old pails with covers and a flask.
Outside the shack is a broken chair, an old wheelbarrow stacked with cookie cans that he uses for storing items, as well as some old freezers. One of the freezers is used for doing laundry and the others for storing rainwater, which he collects when it runs off from his rooftop.
He does not earn an income and even though he is 67-years-old, he has never received his old age pension. He could not recall if he had submitted an application or not.
Asked how he gets by, he said a friend who lives in the village would “give me a raise” to buy food.
Khan told SN that the team also consists of Jagnarine Somwar, Regional Executive Officer, who serves as vice chairman of MoM and other members. Meanwhile they have teamed up with businesses like GuyAmerica Sawmill, which provided most of the first quality greenheart for the building and Forrester Lumber & Building Complex that supplied the team with any item they were short of. Also on board are Bidesh Construction and TMK Construction and the reserve members from the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force. The owner of a furniture manufacturing enterprise will provide furnishings for the house.
The team intended to finish the project earlier but encountered delays during the Christmas holidays and during the inclement weather. They are nevertheless happy that they are able to change Vernon’s life and put a smile on his face.
