The wooden house Shelly Beckles and her husband occupied collapsed two Wednesdays ago displacing the couple; the re-building process is quite an uphill task.The mother of one said she visited the Guyana Relief Council (GRC) in an effort to seek aid but she was told that her house did not collapse because of a natural disaster and so she could not be helped.

Beckles said she went to Ministry of Social Protection and spoke to Minister Volda Lawrence, who has pledged to offer support in re-building her house. For that commitment, she is grateful.

For now, Beckles has her eyes of “a start;” she just needs to see something happen, and she is optimistic she will succeed in rebuilding her house and until that happens she will not rest.

She currently lives in a shack at Durban Backlands, behind her destroyed house, which fell off its stilts and crashed to the ground leaving her injured and with little of her material possessions.
Beckles told the Chronicle that she was resting in bed, home alone at about 14:00 hrs, when she suddenly heard a cracking sound and felt the house quivering. And before she realised what was happening, her house came crashing down. She fell off the bed and was initially trapped under some debris.
Beckles said that when neighbours saw what had happened, they came to render assistance, and she was rescued and taken to safety.
“I am still in disbelief, because the house was not very old and shaky, and suddenly it fell from its pillars to the ground just so, plunging myself and husband in distress.”
She related that she and her husband have been occupying their house at that location for the past 18 years.
Beckles said she is very thankful she had survived the ordeal with only minor injuries, even though she now walks with a limp.
She expressed deep gratitude to her neighbours for reaching out to her and her husband apart from coming to her rescue, and she explained that her neighbours have even been providing meals for her and her husband since Wednesday, because all her household appliances, including her stove, were damaged beyond repair.
Beckles said she had nowhere to go, and so she teamed up with her carpenter husband, to construct a shack made out of plastics, tarpaulin and wood so they could have shelter in the meantime.

“It is very difficult to start all over again; it’s like I have nothing and I have to begin from scratch,” she told the Guyana Chronicle.

The housewife is determined to be back in a decent house soon and welcomes any form of assistance. She can be contacted on 684-5453.

Beckles told this publication that she is however, pleased and thankful to her many neighbours who came forward and offered meals and showed kindness.

(Michel Outridge)