-will supply blocks to two CHPA housing projects

TWELVE persons living with disabilities (PLWD) will be trained in the art of block-making at a specially built training and block-making facility at the Guyana Society for the Blind headquarters on High Street.

The opening of the training workshop and the commissioning of the $875,000 block-making shed were held on Wednesday.

The initiative, which is part of the government’s Community Employment Stimulation Project (CESP), is being executed by the Ministry of Housing and Water (MoHW) in collaboration with the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), the Guyana Council of Organisation for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPWD), and the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce (MoTIC) through the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS).

The facility will be certified by the GNBS which will facilitate the supply of blocks to Little and Great Diamond, East Bank Demerara, where 900 houses will be built by the CHPA.

The MoHW through the CHPA has also provided start-up materials such as sand, cement, tools and protective gear in addition to support in accessing markets and credit.

Making remarks at the event, Programme Coordinator for the GCOPWD, Ganesh Singh, thanked all the partners involved in making the project a reality, and all of the individuals who went the extra mile to ensure it was realised.

“We are very pleased. This is one component of the government’s plan to help persons with disabilities to become financially independent, because they can be independent through small business ventures,” Singh remarked.

Also present at the launch was Musa Haynes, a visually impaired 25-year-old who will be among those who will benefit from the training. Haynes shared that he is looking forward to the opportunities that this new initiative will open up for him.

He said: “I feel pretty good. I think it’s a good initiative of the government. I’m looking forward to the success of it. It will benefit me financially, and provide me with the opportunity to earn for myself.”

Another 19 persons living with a disability from the North Ruimveldt Parent Support Group are also scheduled to benefit from this training.

Making remarks during the opening ceremony of the workshop, Minister of Housing and Water, Colin Croal, appealed to participants to do their very best.

“Your participation in this activity will allow those of you who are willing to make the commitment to become exposed to the world of work in a more structured manner, become entrepreneurs yourself, better provide for your families and have an improved quality of life,” Croal commented.

Croal pointed out that while the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected everyone, it had exacerbated inequalities. Hence the government is all the more bolstered to implement many more such projects, with works in the pipeline for similar initiatives in Region Three, Albouystown, East Ruimveldt, Sophia, Mocha, Lusignan, Buxton, Canje and Linden.

“Over the past few months we have introduced several programmes by various ministries which are intended to create employment opportunities for vulnerable persons and communities,” Croal said.

He noted that the training and block-making facility will also be able to capitilise on the reinvigoration of the construction sector, and accompanying rise in demand for construction materials such as blocks.

Croal noted that the government is fully committed to the improvement of the lives and living conditions of persons with special needs through the provision of better facilities, services and job opportunities with programmes such as the CESP.

The CESP is the brainchild of President Dr. Irfaan Ali and was created to reduce unemployment and hardships faced by vulnerable communities and groups.

Also making remarks at the opening ceremony was Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues. Rodrigues noted that while the CESP programme was organised initially to benefit vulnerable communities, when the ministry was approached by Singh to have the benefits extended to persons living with disabilities, the ministry moved without hesitation.

“This initiative demonstrates government’s commitment to break down barriers and to remove discrimination, inequality and stigma in any form in any of our programmes. We’re very proud of this initiative and proud to have a direct line to assist persons living with disabilities when they come in to apply for their house lot allocation. We facilitate them with the interview process and many persons have been allocated their house lots as a result of that direct line,” she noted.

CHPA Deputy Director – Community Development, Donell Bess-Bascom; CHPA Chief Executive Officer, Sherwyn Greaves, and Minister of Tourism Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, also made remarks during the simple ceremony.