Digicel donation helps refurbish Guadalupe Home for Girls

Over $150, 000 was recently spent by DIGICEL to refurbish and upgrade the Guadalupe Home for Girls.

The home, which was the brainchild of the late nun Sister Patricia Ann Douglas, houses abused, abandoned and runway young girls.{{more}}

Digicel agreed to provide the assistance to the Home after secretary of the Home’s board Sister Clare Harris sent a handwritten note to a ‘very high ranking official at DIGICEL’.

Speaking at the unveiling of the refurbished Home on Tuesday, board member Dr Miriam Sheridan called the day a very memorable one in the life of the Home.

“So, today, we the board of the administration of the home…wish to thank Digicel from the bottom of our hearts for stepping in just at the right moment.” Dr Sheridan also thanked DIGICEL’s country manager John Gidharry, who made sure that refurbishments happened at great speed. “His experience as a corporate manager also contributed in no small way, as he was able to get other entities involved,” she said.

Gidharry explained that the letter from Sister Clare was sent in April and shortly after, he received a note from the chair of the DIGICEL Foundation, asking him to help “as soon as possible.”

He said following that, discussions were held with the board of the Home and several visits were made to the Home to make assessments about what was needed to make the Home a better living environment for the girls.

Gidharry said his company’s intention was to address the safety of the girls, food safety, the dormitory, plumbing issues and the general surroundings of the Home.

“…We looked at the experience the girls had when they came to the Home,” Gidharry shared.

He thanked Franco construction for playing a vital role during the upgrade of the home and the Government for assisting with waivers.

Project manager Krystle Francis said one of the major concerns was that of safety, as there were broken windows and doors of the building. Since then, burglar bars have been installed and barbed wire placed on the perimeter walls of the property.

Now that the dormitories have been refurbished, each girl now has her own bed, with a new mattress and linen, as well as her own private closet space. The office was also retrofitted with a new air-conditioning unit and the girls were supplied with a brand new 50” flat screen television.

They were also given a new deep freezer for bulk food storage.

Additionally, Digicel has set a target that within the next six months, the home be fully sustainable. To this end, the telecommunications company paid all outstanding utility bills, contributed $10,000 to assist with the payment of utilities if funds are not received on time and going forward, will give $1,000 monthly to assist with sustainability.

Minister of National Mobilization, Social Development, the Family, Persons with Disabilities and Youth Frederick Stevenson challenged other corporate citizens to see what assistance they can give to the people St Vincent and the Grenadines.

“I want to challenge other corporate organizations and businesses in St Vincent and the Grenadines to take a little leaf out of your book and assist the Government in what we do in terms of helping the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines.”

Stevenson noted that while the Home receives subventions from the Government, public/private partnerships are always welcomed.

“I can attest to the fact that this Home has been providing, for the young ladies who are here, a wonderful opportunity for them to improve themselves and to make themselves better,” he said.

The minister noted that lately, there has been lot of truancy in the country by girls.

“We are also seeing now, that there are many young girls who are getting in conflict with the law. I believe as I speak there are about six of them housed at one of our police stations,” he stated.

Hence, he said there is need for more homes like the Guadalupe Home for Girls.

“It is my hope that very soon, we would be able to identify a portion of land somewhere that maybe we could work with Guadalupe Home for Girls or the Catholic community and have an extension.”

St Clair Prince, the area representative for Marriaqua, the constituency in which the Home is located, thanked Digicel for its help in restoring the Home. He praised the company for not only sprucing up the building, but for their commitment to sustainability.

“… you have put certain things in place and I am really astonished as to the length that you have gone to help,” Prince said.(CM)