Through the government’s Core Home Support Initiative, six families along the East Coast of Demerara had their dreams of homeownership materialised in the form of Core Home house keys and electrical certificates.
Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal and Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water Susan Rodrigues facilitated the handing-over ceremonies on Friday.
The initiative, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, is part of the government’s goal of providing affordable housing solutions to families in need.
For the recipients, receiving their core homes marks the first step at a better life as they all previously resided in deteriorating homes, struggling to make a livelihood.
Minister Colin Croal handing over house keys to Julie Beckles
Michelle Moses in front of her new home.
Zillah Ramcharran receiving her new home from Minister Susan Rodrigues
One of the Core Homes distributed
The interior of the Core home
The interior of the Core home
The interior of the Core home
The interior of the Core home
The new homeowner’s previous house
The interior of the Core home
The interior of the Core home
Upon receiving their house keys each recipient was overcome with gratitude, satisfaction and excitement.
The Department of Public Information was able to capture the recipient’s wide range of emotions in interviews.
Through tears, Michelle Moses, who recently lost her mother, detailed her experience.
“I feel so overwhelmed because it was long, I was trying to you know acquire my own home and today I can finally say I have achieved a home and I feel thankful,” she told DPI
A widow, Zillah Ramcharran expressed her gratitude to the Ministry for fulfilling her late husband’s life-long dream of homeownership.
She said, “I would like to say thank you guys for helping me for this house because my husband passed away and we have this land we didn’t have money to build on it and I would like to say thanks to each and every one of you”.
Kamal Ramjeet speaking on behalf of his mother, also conveyed how the new home will significantly relieve financial burdens.
Before receiving the new home, Ramjeet’s mother lived in a dilapidated wooden house with a steep step that caused tremendous pain in her back and legs.
With the new home, the family can now easily access every necessary amenity.
Ensuring affordability, the ministry required the families to contribute only $100,000 towards their new $5 million two-bedroom homes.
Minister Rodrigues, noted that this project is only one of several impactful initiatives geared towards providing better livelihoods to citizens.
Other initiatives include zero-rating building materials, liaising with banks to lower interest rates and raising mortgage interest relief.
“So from the time you acquire a piece of land through the government or you acquire a home through the government through our subsidized housing programme you would have doubled or tripled your net-worth giving you ownership to a piece of property that you can go to the bank, that you can unlock financing and that can give you endless possibilities to improve your living circumstances and also plan for your future” the Minister explained.
Thus far over 121 core homes have been allocated, moving the government further to fully honouring their manifesto commitment of providing 50,000 house lots in five years.