THE National Veterans Rest Home, located at Essequibo Street and Kamarang Avenue in Lamaha Springs, Georgetown, is a home away from home for the brave men and women who would have served in the Joint Services, and are now veterans, to enjoy their golden years stress-free.

There are residents of the Home who have served in World War 11. Among them is Wilbert Sampson, who celebrated his 103rd birthday last May.

Sampson is a retired policeman who resided overseas for more than 15 years, but requested to return to Guyana to spend his days here until he is ‘called away’.

He is very chatty, is in charge of all his faculties, and is very much in-tune with the happenings.

Veterans who would have served a minimum of three years before being honourably discharged from the Disciplined Services are all eligible to take up residence at the Home. The Home has a capacity to house 20 residents comfortably, but at present there are only eight residents there.
Arthur pointed out that no matter how elderly the veterans are, they have a place there; but the Home does not cater for the bed-ridden, since it is not a nursing home per se.

There are five caregivers, two Carnegie-trained cooks and one cleaner/laundry staff who serve the Home. Residents have access to the GDF doctors and ambulance services, and they get to see the doctor regularly.

A monthly fee of $25,000 is required from each resident who can move around and help him/herself, but care is also provided by trained and professional staff around the clock.

Staff members at the Home know it is necessary to treat every resident as an individual, because, as one gets older, one tends to change; and working along with the residents takes time, but it is very interesting and informative chatting with the residents, who would often talk of their experiences of yester-year.

Home Administrator, Margaret Rose Arthur, previously served the Guyana Defence Force for 25 years. She is now a retired Warrant Officer, and manages the day-to-day running of the Home.

She told this publication that the Home is funded by donations from organisations, including Food for the Poor and the Royal Commonwealth League of World War 11. Some donations are also received from the GDF, but the Home is yet to get support from the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Fire Service and the Guyana Prison Service.

She explained that managing the operations of the Home is not an easy task, and to understand the elderly residents is all about understanding and knowledge, since older people tend to have little or no recollection of short-term memory, but can narrate stories of their lives from many years back in time, when they served in wars.

Arthur said the National Veterans Rest Home was conceptualised after it was observed that veterans needed just such a place, because they saw each other only at funerals.

She disclosed that the Guyana Veterans Association has a presence in all the regions of Guyana, and members would meet and interact on a regular basis. But they knew more was needed to cater for veterans because only at Christmas time would they distribute hampers as part of donations received from the private sector. This was not enough, so members approached the Government of that time for a plot of land to construct a home for veterans. After a period of waiting, the then Chief of Staff, Brigadier Edward Collins, offered the association a piece of land at the Joint Services Scheme.

The building was built through money garnered from fundraisers, ‘Buy a Brick projects’, and from support from the diaspora overseas. The edifice was finally constructed after consultations and visits to the homes around the country, which gave them an idea of what kind of building was needed.

Arthur noted that the Government of that time gave G$45M towards construction of the building, and it was completed and equipped to accommodate residents. The first resident arrived in April 2012, and a total of 14 residents occupied the building at one time, but six have since passed away, including the GDF number one paratrooper.

The two-storey concrete building was commissioned on November 11, 2011 by then President, Bharrat Jagdeo, and a board of directors was appointed to oversee its operation.

She said residents of today include two World War 11 veterans, one retired fireman, one retired prison officer and a female.