Three Years After Irma, 20 Barbudan Families Receive Keys To Homes

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Barbudan residents who today received keys to their homes under the EU Housing Support Project are pictured with Hon. Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Barbuda MP Trevor Walker, ministers of government, members of the Barbuda Council, and members of the UNDP. (UNDP Photo by Rory Butler)

Twenty vulnerable families in Barbuda were today handed keys to newly repaired or rebuilt homes under the European Union (EU) funded Housing Support to Barbuda project. Five of the houses required major repairs while fifteen new homes were built to replace ones which were destroyed in Hurricane Irma.

The milestone represents the completion of the first phase of the project which is being led by the Government of Antigua & Barbuda and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). A bidding process is currently underway for the second phase of the project, which aims at rebuilding up to an additional 130 houses with EU grant funding.

Akuwaah Benjamin, a mother of four, who like the other 19 families today, received keys to her home, expressed her gratitude and referred to her past hardship, “I’m so grateful for what they have done for us, I know a lot of people were living in tents and trying to get back on their feet.”

Some of the beneficiaries had been forced to live in tents after Hurricane Irma destroyed their homes while others were displaced to Antigua or sought shelter with family in Barbuda. The Category 5 Hurricane which hit Barbuda in September 2017 damaged 95 per cent of homes and left around 44 percent uninhabitable.

Speaking at a handover ceremony today, Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries and Barbuda Affairs Honourable Samantha Marshall said, “our government has worked tirelessly to reenergize Barbuda and make its development rapid and sustainable”.

Prime Minister Honourable Gaston Browne also noted, “I want to give thanks to the EU for the 5 million euros they have made available to rebuild homes in Barbuda”.

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8 COMMENTS

  1. HON.GASTON BROWNE always on the job. Promise made…Promise Kept.
    Trevor Walker should NOT be in this photo. Trevor Walker mouth is FULL of BAD WORDS. I heard Him yesterday and it was AWFUL.

    ABLP ANOTHER 20 YEARS.

    • It was disgusting what he said. He not a born-again Christian, that’s for sure. He really should have been hanging his head in shame.

  2. Great job…. Keep it up. Nothing is more empowering than having a house over your head that you own or ultimately will own.

  3. Good mask wearing.
    No social distancing.
    Is woman PM is draped over from his household?
    Let us not ignore the covid protocols for photo opportunities.
    Sends a poor message to the public; and the police who are supposed to practice & uphold covid protocol regulations.

  4. Well done to majority wearing masks correctly!
    No social distancing –
    Is the PM draped over a member of his household?
    Don’t ignore covid protocols for a photo opportunity… What people see they copy.

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