The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

URBAN Renewal Minister Philip “Brave” Davis presented keys to three families for new homes in West End just in time for Christmas.

The triplex building, which was once dilapidated and considered an eyesore, was renovated as part of the Small Home Repairs Project and undertaken by Urban Renewal.

“This celebration today evidences but one of 76 homes repaired at a cost of just under $80,000. This has mobilised contractors from the island of Grand Bahama,” Mr Davis said on Wednesday. “The beautifully renovated facility that three families will call home today was developed out of need. These families lived in homes which were beyond repair. Urban Renewal is not in the business of building homes. It is, though, about bringing ‘now’ relief.”

Mr Davis said Urban Renewal has touched and changed the lives of people and built communities. He stated that Urban Renewal, which was conceptualised by the Prime Minister Perry Christie, breaks the back of bureaucracy to meet the needs of people where they are, when they need it.

He commended the Urban Renewal team in Grand Bahama. “These men and women of valour, under the most able supervision of Deputy Director Michelle Reckley, have been ‘pulling rabbits out of their hats’ one after the other. The Urban Renewal brand is being stamped all over this island. In addition to their programmes of social mobilisation, the Small Home Repairs Project greatly benefits small contractors, who provide local employment for many masons, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, skilled workers, and helpers, particularly our young men,” he said.

“While employment is a key benefit, the Project also brings much-needed and urgent rehabilitation to unacceptable housing conditions which plague the poor among us.”

Mr Davis said the government will not be discouraged by critics. “We remain resolute in our commitment to the poor, downtrodden, and disadvantaged to be innovative in serving those who are most in need,” he said. “So to the foot soldiers of Urban Renewal, I challenge you to see beyond the jealous yawn of negativity. See beyond the old routines and press toward the mark of better results.”

Mr Davis said those who benefit from the Project are people who have made contributions to the growth and development of the country, many of whom are now experiencing economic hardship or have progressed to their twilight years.

“Nelson Mandela once said: ‘There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children’”, he said.

“I add to that, the physically challenged, women, and the elderly. The three families that are to be housed today represent the most special among us. They are our most vulnerable. This is a great day to be called Bahamian.

“For Bahamians, this spirit of giving and of Christmas are not lost. This sends a very powerful signal for us as a people.

“We are survivors – a generous people – kind at heart.

“We are a Christian people,” he said.