Thirteen homes are being repaired in East Grand Bahama by the Ministry for Grand Bahama and the Ministry of Finance, targeting elderly residents as well as those with disabilities whose homes were destroyed during Hurricane Dorian in September 2019.
Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Ginger Moxey, accompanied by a team of Project Officers, toured the homes on Friday, January 6, 2023 and spoke with not only the contractors but some of the residents, all of whom expressed joy and excitement at being able to move back into their homes within weeks.
She said: “We thought it was important to come out and see some of the work that was being done with home repairs,” a project within her Ministry for the elderly, disabled and indigent of East Grand Bahama who have been displaced because of Hurricane Dorian.
“We thought we’d make them the priority projects within the Ministry to try and get some of them back in their homes. There are some who are living in Freeport and living on (their) pension and receiving $250 per week, but they’re having to spend $900 a month on rent. So, we thought it was important to try and get them back in their homes and that’s what we’ve been working on.
“I’m excited to see the progress here today because we’re visiting some of the homes and many families will be able to move back into their homes soon. That’s a big deal.”
The Minister also commended the work being done on the homes, describing it as a community effort. “You have contractors who are from the communities, they’ve employed people from the communities and they’re working on homes of people in the communities they know. They grew up in the communities. It’s an exciting thing to see here today and have that type of partnership, that type of collaboration.”
Building contractor Rev. Lawrence Laing was also present and said residents are “excited and grateful” with the repairs being done and will be able to move into their homes shortly.
There are 13 homes in this, the first and second phases of the project stretching from McClean’s Town to High Rock. It is anticipated that the third phase will begin in February.
While this small home repair project is going on, there are also those being carried out by the DRA, as well as the Urban Renewal Home Repair Programme.
According to the Minister, “I’m very pleased with what I see here today and hopefully we can get a lot more going.”
By: ROBYN ADDERLEY/Bahamas Information Services
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