THE building housing the Salvation Army’s Church and Women’s Home at Bent and Haley Streets, Wortmanville, Georgetown, has been given an elegant “make over” thanks to a group of Canadian volunteers who spent the last two weeks conducting extensive renovation works to the facility. The seniors’ home is housed upstairs and the Church is on the bottom flat.
The group of 22 volunteers, headed by Mr. Joel Turley, Project Director, arrived here in two batches – on January 20 and 23 and, having satisfactorily completed the renovation job, is scheduled to depart Guyana today (Sunday February 8) for Canada. Also on the team were Bob Mc Arthur, a senior member, who is in effect the project sponsor, and his wife Shirley.
The group comprised a range of people, most of whom are able-bodied retirees from distinguished backgrounds, but all of whom are multi-talented and so were able to deliver quality service in the construction-related project. The sum total was a remarkable job, for which both the seniors and the Guyana Division of the Salvation Army are eminently proud and deeply appreciative. Among the group were some young volunteers as well, who were able to get up on scaffolds and mount to the roof.

Turley who, apart from being a volunteer, is also a member of the Salvation Army in Canada, said that the volunteers who are not necessarily Salvationists, undertake such humanitarian projects each year. They would usually approach the Caribbean Salvation Army territory and ask them to identify projects on which they can work, and together with the divisional directors come up with a priority area. This year, the Guyana Division was identified. Last year they went to Suriname, Belize and Haiti.
The cost of renovation to the Wortmanville Corps he said, was funded entirely by the volunteers who provided both materials and labour. Turley said the volunteers all cover their own costs, plus make a contribution towards the cost of the repairs and the project itself, giving of their time and efforts to get the job done.
“Our group tries to not put any burden on the countries we go to, so we try to cover all of our costs while we’re here in Guyana, because we realise that it takes [the Salvation Army] a lot of money to keep the programme running. We do not want to create a burden, either in our coming or after we leave, for the country that we’re trying to help, and that’s our goal,” he said. Turley commended the Salvation Army, headed by Divisional Leaders – Majors Emmerson and Carolinda Cumberbatch for the facility the Salvation Army has in place to make the elderly women comfortable. The group, which has had limited interaction with the seniors since being here, described them as “wonderful women.”
This has been Mr. Turley’s second trip to Guyana; the first was in 2001 when he had headed another group of volunteers and carried out building repairs and construction of fences at the East La Penitence Corps; the Drug Rehabilitation Centre in Kingston; the Queenstown Corps and Vergenoegen Corps, respectively.
Works done to the building –primarily the women’s home– include: painting of the entire building – inside and outside; replacement of the front and back stairs; blocking up leaks to the roof and replacement of ceiling in the roof using plywood panels; and replacement of internal walls. All doors have been replaced; the kitchen cupboards have been repaired and bathroom and toilet facilities have been replaced entirely. New lockers and display shelves have been constructed for each room.
In an effort to make the environment more “cheery” and “enjoyable,” the colour scheme in the living quarters has been changed, and has been replaced by more animated colours.