The National Veterans Rest Home was yesterday officially declared open and outgoing President Bharrat Jagdeo, whose government provided some $45M to assist with its construction, committed further funding to ensure the facility’s upkeep.
More than 20 retired servicemen and women who have fallen on hard times will be housed in the Lamaha Springs facility, which is outfitted with a lift for those in wheelchairs as well as beds and other basic facilities. Those housed at the facility will live in dorm-like conditions.
The rooms this newspaper saw during a tour had two beds but there are larger rooms which will accommodate more. The facility is not completely furnished since beds are due to arrive in Guyana shortly.
Speaking at a simple ceremony yesterday, Jagdeo told a small gathering that it was an honour to pay tribute to all those who have worked very hard to conceptualise the home and to bring it to a state of readiness to serve the veterans, particularly those who have “fallen on hard times.”
Jagdeo noted that while facilities such as the veterans’ home are very important, one has to assess what happens to people when they leave military service. Many persons leave military service at a very early age, he said, “when they are still in the prime of life and when they still have a lot of contribution to make to the country and to themselves.”
He recalled that several years ago he told two former chiefs-of-staff that every soldier needs to leave the army with a skill and at the senior level they should have a university education, while junior officers should be exposed to an aggressive, technical vocational programme to ensure that they acquire skills.
He also told the gathering that he has instructed the Finance Ministry to make the National Veterans Home a subvention agency. “The Board will receive a subvention from the government to help to make it operational and so that it will continue to serve people,” he said.
‘Labour of love’
Meanwhile, Commodore Gary Best, in brief remarks, said that the opening of the home was a special moment for the Guyana Defence Force, noting that the army will continue to collaborate with the Guyana Legion and support the efforts for veterans across the country. He said that the army will continue to lobby the government to ensure that “provisions come, more frequently, more often” and he thanked the president for his intervention to complete the project.
“Today marks a bright beginning for veterans in Guyana. There has been a long struggle to get where we are… what we have here is a labour of love,” Colonel (rtd) Carl Morgan, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Guyana Veterans Foundation said before giving a short history of the project.
Shortly after the establishment of the Guyana Veterans Foundation in 1995, ex-captain Oscar Pollard came up with the idea of a veterans’ complex, he said. “It was not meant only to serve veterans. It was meant to be in a community to help to give back some of the service we give as veterans to the community,” he added.
Morgan said the idea for the construction of the facility was well received and engineer Colonel John Lewis produced the drawings and later Brigadier Edward Collins secured a piece of land from the Housing Co-op for construction.
The original estimate for the building was $50M but from early on financing was a problem, Morgan said, while adding that money was received from soldiers, ex-soldiers, overseas organisations and several persons. He said that work started with the original concept of a three-storey building and because of the sloth of the funds the plan was changed to a two-storey building.
Funds were also acquired through a buy a brick project in Guyana and overseas. “The funds were coming in slowly but still we persisted,” he said.
The government later stepped in, he said, recalling that the Jagdeo administration donated $5M in 2009 and $40M in the following year.
Among the supportive organisations and individuals singled out were MMC Security Service, Food for the Poor, Reach Out and Touch, Major Joe Skeete (rtd) who donated flat screen televisions and Enid Bissember, widow of Major Michael Bissember. Bissember has been making $100,000 donations yearly on the anniversary of her husband’s death. Yesterday she donated the seventh cheque.
Also present at the opening ceremony were Major General (rtd) Joe Singh, Director of Prisons Dale Erskine and Fire Chief Marlon Gentle.
