Homeless Diamond family to get new home

…following Diwali fire

One of the teams attached to the Community Organised for the Restoration of the Environment (CORE) initiative which operates through the Public Infrastructure Ministry has embarked on a charitable mission aimed at assisting the family now homeless after their Lot 1892, 20th Avenue, Great Diamond, East Band Demerara home was burnt to the ground on Wednesday last.

It was reported in the media that amidst the Diwali celebrations, a fire, believed to be the result of children playing with explosives, ripped through the Singh’s family home on the East Bank of Demerara, completely destroying their possessions and leaving the five occupants without shelter.
The house was divided into two apartments – owner Carmalita Singh lived in the front half, while her daughter and three grandchildren occupied the other half that was separated by a wall.
After news of this unfortunate event made its way to the CORE team responsible for that area, the group reached out to the displaced family, offering assistance in the recovery efforts.
As a part of their undertaking, the team comprising of 10 members commenced clearing the rubble from the gutted house but ultimately seeks to aid the family in rebuilding their home. With this aim in mind, the CORE group has made an application to the Public Infrastructure Ministry for support in sourcing the building materials needed to accomplish this mission.
Speaking to this publication on Monday was Travis Clarke, the leader of the East Bank Demerara CORE initiative, who explained what prompted his team to extend a helping hand to the Singh family.
In doing so, he indicated that the group was engaged in a beautification project in Little Diamond, EBD, when they were made aware of the fire. As such, they took it upon themselves to aid the homeless family as their next assignment.
The team leader went on to explain that they began clearing out process on Monday and this is expected to last for two days. Given that they are awaiting confirmation from the Ministry, the group is unsure as to whether or not they will be provided with the materials and therefore unable to say when the construction work will kick off. Nevertheless they are hoping for the realisation of this mission at the earliest possible date.
Clarke further pointed out that his team consists of a number of builders and contractors who will be able to work on building the family a new home.
The CORE initiative was established earlier this year, which saw 20 teams being employed throughout the various administrative regions so as to supplement the work of the Special Projects Unit (SPU).
Each group consisting of 10 members holds the responsibility of ensuring environmental upgrades, drainage, and sanitation improvements and the general aesthetics of the works being undertaken by the SPU.
However, this is the first time the CORE team has taken on a project of such charitable nature and therefore sees this as paving the way for other similar ventures to follow in the future.