New housing opportunities for stricken islanders
For many lower income families of San Pedro and Caye Caulker who had their uninsured homes literally blown or washed away, their dilemma has been a tough one: rebuild a shack with some salvaged plywood and zinc or await an uncertain future in a group shelter or with relatives on the mainland. Today government unveiled plans to discourage haphazard rebuilding by making available financing to purchase prefabricated houses that were originally to be erected at the new community near La Democracia on the Western Highway. At the same time measures are being taken to assist people while they wait for their new homes to go up.
Since hurricane Keith, the people who lost their houses on both San Pedro and Caye Caulker have been staying with family and friends on the cayes, while others have moved to the mainland. Today, the victims who reside in Caye Caulker got the opportunity to take advantage of a programme that will provide temporary shelters at no cost to them.
Fermin Marin, Chairman, Caye Caulker
“Well the people that will be utilizing the shelter here are the people who lost their homes especially in the west side as you’ve seen before, most of them that lost their houses, these are the people that we are taking first priority to assist in getting a shelter over their heads. A kitchen where they can provide some warm food. We have a well which will be providing clean water to bathe and we will also be bringing water containers here so that they can have good drinking water.”
The Barracks was built by the BDF and a number of voluntary groups who gave up their time to come to the island. Construction started shortly after Keith passed and today a number of people were making plans to move in.
Jacqueline Woods
“Since this morning seven to eight families have signed up to move into these temporary shelters. It is expected that a total of twenty families will be staying in the barracks.”
Patty Arceo, Area Representative, Belize Rural South
“Well the contract that they signed was that we’re putting up guidelines. The housing project has to be kept clean and up to a certain standard. The next thing is that that the land where we are belongs to Louise Aguilar and she was more than happy to give it to us so that we can work with our people. The contract is for three months. During these three months we are providing these people with utilities, rental free rooms, a communal kitchen right here with butane gas, food items, with sleeping bags and personal; hygiene packages for all of them here.”
The residents we spoke with were only too happy to finally have a space of their own.
Roselle Joseph, Hurricane Victim
“Very relieved. I had my four kids, but their father took two of them to his hometown so they could attend school. They are a set of twins, a boy and a girl. I have a little girl that’s two years old and a baby boy that’s two months and three weeks. My roof came off and most of my clothes and my bed was destroyed.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Where has the family been staying.”
Roselle Joseph
“First we were staying at Tom’s Hotel, then from there we had to move, so the Seaview Hotel provided us with a with a house.”
Gerardo Allen, Hurricane Victim
“I signed the contract because at the moment I need the place and by three months I think I will be through with my own house and I could move into my new home.”
While the residents get ready to move into the temporary shelter, they are also being asked to look after their properties…do whatever clean up that needs to get done and take advantage of the housing programmes that have been designed specifically for them.
Dickie Bradley, Minister of Housing
“A full programme in terms of having funds available to construct, to build through the Development Finance Corporation, through utilizing materials which were originally were brought in for the sate little city, which will be brought out on the islands and be accessible to the residents who are ready at that time to start to build back their dream homes on the islands.”
Today, Bradley and Arceo met with the residents of San Pedro to address whatever concerns they may have. In the meantime the San Pedro Town Board has rented a large building to provided temporary housing for their homeless.
Two hundred homes have been earmarked for San Pedro and one hundred for Caye Caulker. In addition to the prefab wooden housing units, residents can also opt for different types of concrete homes, also with financing from DFC.
