Twenty-seven displaced families receive keys to new homes at Orange Hill
One of the new houses at Orange Hill. (API photo)
News
September 3, 2022

Twenty-seven displaced families receive keys to new homes at Orange Hill

Twenty seven families from the red volcano hazard zone, who were displaced in the aftermath of the April 2021 volcanic eruptions, now have brand new houses to call their own.

The houses, which are built at Orange Hill, were officially presented to the new owners, during a ceremony on Thursday September 1.

Twenty-seven houses at Orange Hill were handed over to displaced families on September 1. (API photo)

Thousands of people were hastily evacuated from the red zone hours before the La Soufriere began erupting explosively on April 9, 2021.
Displaced residents spent months in shelters before the all clear was given for them to return home.
Sadly, some persons had nowhere to return, as the house they once called home was buried in ash or damaged beyond repair.

Part of the audience at the handing over ceremony. (API photo)

However on Thursday, some of these families received fresh hope, when they received the keys to their brand new houses at Orange Hill.
Delivering the feature address at the ceremony, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves thanked the Sri Sathya Sai Baba Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago for the role it played in making the houses a reality.

Prime Minister Gonsalves (seated); Eloise Gonsalves, wife of the Prime Minister; Minister of Housing Orando Brewster; Parliamentary Representative for North Windward Montgomery Daniel and others take a tour of the interior of one of the houses. (API photo)

The Prime Minister stated that a total of 1,300 houses had been damaged by the volcano and needed to be repaired or rebuilt.
He said government needs to build in the region of 150 new homes, for persons who were adversely affected by the eruptions.

From left: Minister of Housing Orando Brewster, a representative of the Sai Baba Organization of Trinidad and Tobago, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and Deputy Prime Minister and Parliamentary Representative for North Windward Montgomery Daniel. (API photo)

 

According to Gonsalves, 150 houses have been promised by the government of Venezuela.
At present, government is doing repairs to houses in the red zone which suffered significant damage (level 3&4) from the eruptions.
The Prime Minister said government is finalizing the purchase of a property in Sandy Bay, which is owned by Deputy Prime Minister Montgomery Daniel. This will be then used to build houses for more of the displaced families.
Gonsalves said he also wants to turn Daniel’s house “into something else.” Part of the land will be used for a cemetery, while other lots will be used for housing.
The new houses at Orange Hill were built at an estimated cost of EC$66,000 each.

Some of the new houses (API photo)

Infrastructure and other fittings take the cost of each house to about $100,000 for a two bedroom and about $130,000 for a three bedroom house.

Each house is built on a lot of land of at least 4000 square feet in area, with a value of about $20,000.

“After every storm and Soufriere, we build houses for poor people,” Gonsalves said.

The Prime Minister indicated that he had taken “a conscious decision to devote my life to you and for you.”