–Parikwarinau family gets new house following fire

PRESIDENT, Dr Irfaan Ali, on Sunday, presented a new house to a Parikwarinau, Region Nine family as part of the Men on Mission (MoM) initiative.

The recipients, 41-year-old Richard Gouveia, 31-year-old Carin Bernard and their five children, were recently rendered homeless after a fire destroyed the house they previously occupied.

The MoM Initiative, in collaboration with the business community and other stakeholders, donated the materials and supplied the workforce for the project.

The couple, who has been living in the community for over a decade, said they were extremely happy and grateful to have a house again.

Meanwhile, the President engaged residents of the community to discuss a number of initiatives to improve their lives, including the expansion of the community’s food production capacity and its potential to earn.

He said that within the next three weeks, the government, through the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, will provide a supply of cassava sticks to expand the village’s production of cassava and farine.

The President also announced that the government will contract the community to produce 5,000 clay bricks with another order guaranteed after the first contract is honoured.

From the blocks that are produced, a portion will go to help the households within the community improve their homes.

Under the MoM umbrella, several projects, which include the construction of houses for the vulnerable and elderly have been rolled out.

The initiative was launched in October 2022 by the Head of State, who, at the time, noted that men in Guyana must become more conscious of the areas where they are falling behind in society.

The programme initially targetted 1,000 men to sign up as mentors. On its opening day, however, approximately 3,000 men registered to be mentors.