Hand in Hand Ministries Donates House….

Bernadine Lauriano was all smiles today when she officially received a house from Belize Electricity Limited and Hand in Hand Ministries Belize.  To qualify Lauriano had to assist in its construction as well as participate in building houses for others and become an active member of her community in the Lake Independence area. The value of the house is eighteen thousand dollars and it comes with a free service entrance, valued at a thousand dollars, for electricity supply. News Five’s Isani Cayetano and intern Chelsea Wagner put together the following report.

Chelsea Wagner, Reporting

Forty-nine year old Bernadine Lauriano is an employee of Belize Maintenance Limited. As the matriarch in her family she has been working tirelessly to provide for and keep them together under one roof. After several years of attending sessions with Hand in Hand Ministries she is today the proud recipient of a new home.

Bernadine Lauriano

Bernadine Lauriano, Recipient of New Home
“My home is going, it is very old and it was going to fall very soon. It is leaning, it is leaking very bad and we were getting wet so I said let me got o Hand in Hand for help. But when I went there, I never get it right away. So he get B.E.L.—he tell them a helpless—and when I hear B.E.L. mi wah build it, I was surprised cause dehn neva tell me. Dehn neva tell me, dehn surprise me.”

This afternoon, Hand in Hand Ministries continued in its yearly efforts in donating houses to those in dire need. For the organization this is the two hundredth and forty third house they have built since opening its doors in 2002. However, this year the Belize Electricity Limited took the initiative to partner with them in providing a new home for Bernadine Lauriano, a resident of the Lake Independence Area. Director of Programs and Projects with Hand in Hand Ministries is Bernard Panton.

Bernard Panton

Bernard Panton, Director of Programs & Projects, Hand in Hand Ministries
“Today we blessed the two hundredth and forty-third house that Hand in Hand has built and the Building for Change Program has been building houses for the marginalized since 2003.”

Reporter

“And how was this woman chosen?”

Bernard Panton

“Well Hand in Hand has a selection committee.  When people apply, the application, once it’s approved, goes to the committee, we do a visit to their houses to do a hands-on inspection.  The information that we get from their interview in the office and that we get from the house.  The selection committee meets every Thursday and we discuss and we select and that’s how we come up with the partner.”

Reporter

“Can you tell us about this specific individual?”

Bernard Panton

“This specific individual has been attending sessions that we also, this program is a holistic approach that we use, and every first Saturday of every month we have meetings that people who are partners with us it’s mandatory that they attend if they are to get a house from us.  And Ms. Bernadine has been attending for the past three years.”

At a brief handing over ceremony, almost a dozen employees of the utility company were present, including Ernesto Gomez, B.E.L.’s Senior Manager for Energy and Material Supply. The initiative is the second partnership between B.E.L. and Hand in Hand Ministries. They have been working closely with each other since Lauriano was selected for a new home.

Ernesto Gomez

Ernesto Gomez, B.E.L. Senior Manager, Energy and Material Supply

“Finishing a project like this is most-gratifying; much more than projects that we do on a day to day basis out there. I am very pleased with the outcome. I want to especially thank Miss Bernadine and Mister Lino out there for allowing us the honor of doing this project for you all. We are very glad that it has been finished and it is being inaugurated. And I just wish to thank Hand in Hand for putting this project together. Two hundred and forty-three houses; that’s a lot. We definitely want to continue our partnership and cooperation with Hand in Hand. Maybe we will be able to participate more.”

With the addition of a third building on the property, the family is quite happy for the much needed assistance from both organizations. For Lauriano, it’s a dream come through.

Bernadine Lauriano
“I am very, very happy about it and I thank Mister Joe Lawrence from BML because he gave me all the time off from the house was building up to now. So I thank him very much.”

Chelsea Wagner for News Five.