A dry bed is a simple comfort that most people can take for granted. But nine-year-old Lorenzo Gilbert and his seven siblings never knew this comfort until Friday night when they received a new house from the non-governmental organisation Habitat for Humanity.
Lorenzo’s parents Carolyn and Omesh Seepersad, of First Street, Harmony Hall, Gasparillo, smiled proudly when they received the keys to their new $150,000 house during a function on Friday. It was attended by Republic Bank director and chairman of Capital Campaign Cabinet of Habitat for Humanity Ronald Harford, president of the National Gas Company Indar Maharaj and national director of Habitat for Humanity Jennifer Massiah.
Holding her six-week-old baby Leanna, a beaming Gilbert said it was a dream come true. “You know how long we trying to fix up our house?” she said, pointing to a ramshackle plywood house where they once lived. However, despite their efforts the roof of the wooden house caved in earlier this year and a wall at the back collapsed. The floors were rotten and the roof had gaping holes.
The old house had no furniture except for a broken sofa, a chair, a wooden table and a wardrobe with one door missing. The three boys—Luke, 18, Videsh, 14, and Lorenzo—sleep on a mattress on the floor while the girls—Laura-Lee, 19, Vasha, 16 and Vishalla, ten— share one bed. Omesh and Carolyn share a cramped room with three-year-old Varun and the new born baby. Gilbert said despite the conditions, she always tried to keep her family happy.
In January, after they attended a community meeting, Gilbert’s plight caught the attention of Laura Ramlochan, a community development officer with the Land Settlement Agency. Ramlochan liaised with Habitat for Humanity, which received some funding from NGC and within six months, a new house was built. Harford told the Gilberts they now had the task of making the house into a home and challenged the family to work together to do well to improve their lives.
Little Lorenzo, who attends the Harmony Hall Presbyterian School promised Harford he would do well at school now they had a proper house. Maharaj, who also spoke at the function, said 25 members of NGC volunteered their time and labour to build the house and NGC offered two working days to them to assist the family. The house cost $150,000.
Massiah saluted NGC for its contribution to Habitat for Humanity. She said in oil-rich T&T, many families still lived in poverty and urged more companies to help Habitat for Humanity as part of their corporate social responsibility.