FOR 73-year-old Angela Emmanuel, a house built under President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s Men on Mission (MoM) initiative means her pension no longer goes to paying rent.
Emmanuel paid $30,000 a month in rent before she moved into her MoM house about a year ago. During that time, her rent cost competed with her basic needs.
“That was not something easy for me to do, because you still have sometimes to buy medication,” she said, stating that, “A house is not something that you throw away. A house is something that you can build on.”
Her story is one of hundreds the initiative can point to as MoM celebrates its fourth anniversary, since President Ali launched it on October 29, 2022.
The initiative builds and furnishes homes at no cost for vulnerable Guyanese, including pensioners and single parents, who own their house lots.
Another beneficiary, Basanti Persaud, remembered where she once lived. Her previous house leaked so badly that rain soaked her bed, flooded the downstairs section and left her unable to cook.
“All the bed wet up, the house wet up,” she recalled, explaining that, “When I get this house, I was so grateful and thankful.”
She extended heartfelt appreciation to the government and the ministers involved in the programme.
For James Hercules, the new house has meant a full year without rent and room to earn a living. With government support, he has also set up a shade house to do farming.
“I’m thankful for this home that the Men on Mission gave me, and it benefitted me and my family,” he said, adding his anniversary wishes to the MoM team.
To date, the initiative has constructed more than 170 houses, with approximately 161 handed over to beneficiaries.
In addition to building homes, the Men on Mission operates Youth Empowerment Programmes (YEP) in Georgetown, Region Nine and Region Six, offering children meals, homework assistance, literacy and numeracy support, life skills training and sporting activities.
The initiative is also advancing a Men Empowerment and Mentorship Programme (MEMP) targeting incarcerated men and their children, to strengthen family relationships, provide guidance and help break cycles of offending.
Men on Mission continues to assess applications for housing assistance, with priority given to vulnerable individuals and families who meet the programme’s eligibility criteria. (DPI)