The Rotary Club of Georgetown, with support from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on Saturday signed a contract to launch the restoration of the Guyana Red Cross Children’s Convalescent Home at D’Urban Backlands, Georgetown.
The restoration project is estimated to cost $25M; works will be done to the interior of the building, as well as power washing the entire structure and repainting.
Speaking at the launch of the project on Saturday, President of the Rotary Club, Sheldon Hazelwood said talks commenced since August last year when the Church reached out to the Rotary Club indicating their interest to collaborate.
“It was around that same time that we started looking at this project…Our club initiated this project along with the Guyana Red Cross…Our original idea was to come in, get the kitchen done, do a hand shake, a smile and say goodbye,” Hazelwood explained.
But upon further inspection of the building, Hazelwood said it was observed that there is need for “deeper” works.
“Then we started to look at the exterior and so on and so forth,” he said.
And following continued engagement and a visit to the Convalescent Home, Hazelwood said funds were approved for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to contribute to the project.
“By the next month, that was in February, they came back to us and said the church had approved US$67,500, equivalent to about $14.1M,” he noted.
Upon hearing this, Hazelwood said the Rotary Club was “ecstatic.”
“When we looked at the estimate and so on, we were wondering in our heads where are we going to get all this money from,” he recalled.
While the overall cost of the restoration project is expected to amount to some $25M, only $14M is currently available.
However, Hazelwood said he is confident that once the project starts, other contributions will follow to fill the gap.
“We will have a complete restoration…for the betterment of the community, the children who are housed here, as well as the staff and the Guyana Red Cross, and of course it will be immense please for the church,” Hazelwood said.
Meanwhile, Dorothy Fraser from the Guyana Red Cross Society, said the project will enhance the livelihood of the children.
“There is so much that these children have to offer to our community at large… I don’t think only children will understand how much this mean to their future lives…and to the staff who care for them, they do need a better building,” she said.
