Housing

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain that build it. Ps: 127:1
Taking a stroll through some areas along the East Coast and West Coast Demerara and even in Albouystown, the sight that meets your eyes will be one of shock for many. The house is one of dilapidation; what is left of a roof is covered with a piece of plastic that blows wherever the elements of the weather take it. Pieces of cardboard nailed together are called walls, and when it rains the make shift roofs are no match for the water that pours onto the pieces of bedding used as beds on the dirt floor. Lack of electricity also lends to the air of poverty that ravishes the lives of these families.

The people who occupy these shacks do not have the means necessary to bring about enough change to enjoy life in its totality, so there’s little hope for the future, which seems bleak.

In a small community on the West Bank of Demerara Mr. Agard and his wife struggle to live in a shack they call home. Mr. Agard said that his mother who is now deceased was the owner of what was once a beautiful home, but because of the economic constraints very little maintenance was done to the building thus the state it is in today.

Weather beaten and on the verge of collapse, its rusted zinc sheet roof, rotting walls and missing floor board here and there, with the absence of electricity only an old kerosene lamp acts as a guide for them to find the spot to lay their heads at night. This shelter provides the only refuge against the elements of the weather; it is so precarious that constant movements can result in its collapse. Because of his age and a troublesome disease Mr. Agard cannot work. With a partially blind wife he sees little hope for the future.
Many of us take for granted the comfort and security our homes provide. We do not have to worry about a leaky roof, shaky stairs or lack of electricity. When we are confronted with the situations that our less fortunate brothers and sisters have to face in their daily lives, we ought to be more thankful to God and less critical about others. Together we can make a difference in our community.

As of December 2007 Food For The Poor (Guyana) has renewed the hope of more than Seven Hundred (700) families by providing them with a new home at a cost of Seven Hundred and Twenty Thousand, (G$720,000) dollars each (US3,600). We have constructed houses in areas such as Sophia, East Coast Demerara, West Coast and West Bank Demerara, West Coast Berbice, along the Essequibo Coast and the Amerindian Communities of St. Cuthbert’s Mission which can be found off the Linden/Soesdyke Highway and Mabaruma in Region #1.

For 2008 building homes for families who have lost hope, remains a top priority for Food For The Poor (Guyana) Inc.

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