President Ali, Men on Mission rebuilding elderly woman’s home at Herstelling
Meena Bafan, an 85-year-old elderly woman of Herstelling, East Dank Demerara will soon be moving into her newly constructed home following the delivery of a commitment made by His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali during a recent outreach.
The head of state led a group of men under the ‘Men on Mission’ [MOM]initiative to the area Thursday morning, to demolish the elderly woman’s dilapidated house to facilitate its reconstruction.
Bafan, who has been living in Herstelling for over 42 years, occupies the building along with her grandson.
President Ali said the intention is to have the house rebuilt by the end of next week so that the elderly woman and her grandson can enjoy the holiday season in a comfortable environment.
“I intend to be physically and personally involved and I thank all the members of Men on Mission here and what we are hoping to achieve is to complete the structure by next Friday,” he said.
The president said that MOM will be embarking on similar projects across the country in keeping with its mandate to promote positive change in society.
“These are some of the things that in every community we want men to gather their efforts to come together, helping others, creating positive impact not only on the social side, but also to uplifting the lives of people.”
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, Government Member of Parliament, Sanjeev Datadin and Police Commissioner (ag) Clifton Hicken also participated in the exercise.
Minister Bharrat spoke of the role MOM will play in enhancing the lives of the less fortunate, particularly the elderly citizens.
He is calling on residents to identify persons who are living in similar conditions, in their communities, so they too can get assistance.
“If anyone know of individuals who are vulnerable, especially our elderly who live in this condition, they should update us so that we can extend some kind of help as we are doing here today,” he urged.
Commissioner Hicken said that the Guyana Police Force will play its part in engaging communities and providing assistance to vulnerable groups, as part of the force’s community relations efforts.
“We are going to continue to build capacity by enhancing these buildings and ensuring that we have adequate security mechanisms in place,” he stated.
The promise to rebuild the home was made when President Ali made an impromptu visit to Herstelling and surrounding East Bank Demerara communities on Saturday last.
The initiative will be conducted through a collaboration with the relevant stakeholders, including the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), and the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA). GAICO Construction is also part of the undertaking.