– 53,111 households to benefit

THE Government yesterday commenced distribution of its $25,000 COVID-19 relief grant to residents of five Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and one Municipality in Region Six, East Berbice Corentyne.

Residents in the Municipality of Corriverton along with those in the communities of Crabwood Creek, 52/74, 51/Good Hope, Macedonia/Joppa and Maida/ Tarlogie benefitted from the grant while residents of the remaining communities will receive theirs during the course of the week.
“We will be delivering to every household, not every family; we have to be very careful with the word household and family because some people may feel that every family may have to get the voucher.
“This relief will be in the form of cash to the residents so they decide how they want to spend it,” said Regional Coordinator Zamal Hussain.
Regional Executive Officer Narindra Persaud explained that 71 teams will be deployed in the Region to handle the distribution, noting that a total of 53,111 households in the Region will be benefitting from the initiative at the overall cost of approximately $1.3 billion.

A Blessing
Rawlston Goodings, 46, a farmer and resident of Tarlogie, said the $25,000 is a “blessing” for him.
“First I want to thank God and secondly the President for making this contribution to us. It’s a blessing no matter how small it is and we will use it wisely and I trust that each one of us will do the same,” Goodings told the Guyana Chronicle.

Meanwhile, 28-year-old Shawn Bourne, a construction worker and a father of one, said that he lost his job as a result of the pandemic and

since then, he has been experiencing dire financial issues. He told the Guyana Chronicle he is grateful for the assistance as it will provide him with stability for now.

“I do construction and right now there isn’t work so this will help me get back on my feet for now.”
For 44-year-old Latchmanie Uterjee of Number 35 Village, the cash provides some hope as her son has been out of a job for several months. Uterjee said she is unemployed and her husband recently underwent heart surgery.

“I want to say thanks, this will go a long way; it can help fill a hole, it can help buy groceries or pay a bill but I know it will help tremendously.”
Thus far, Regions One and Nine have also benefitted from the cash grant initiative.