It was Christmas 2012.
Single mom, Cheryl Alexander, lived with her four children in a small house in Jacob’s Hill, Wallerfield blocked around with plywood and galvanise sheets.
Over the dirt floor, she had spread a piece of vinyl.
She bought puzzles and other toys for the children and thought they would sit on the floor and play with them. But the rains came and flooded out their little home and ruined their Christmas.
Alexander was so sad for her children she vowed to get up and do something about their living conditions.
With the help of Government agencies she was able to build a concrete foundation for a new house on the same plot of land.
But it was as far as she got as further pleas for help were turned down. She and her family continued to live in the plyboard home for the next four years.
The dreams of her their new home remained with only its foundation for three years until Habitat for Humanity, in partnership with Republic Bank Ltd, stepped in last year.
Within a year, Alexander was able to complete her entire house and she and her children hope to move in by Christmas.
Alexander, a 46-year old Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme worker, was provided with financing to complete her house which she repays in affordable monthly payments.
“The children are so excited,” Alexander told the T&T Guardian.
She was one of six people present at a house dedication ceremony at Cashew Gardens, Chaguanas yesterday who either got assistance to build new homes or repair or complete existing ones.
The ceremony was held for June Daban, another single mom, who had a brand new house constructed on a plot of land she acquired in the Land for the Landless programme.
Pastor Ramjit Ramayah, blessing Daban’s home, described Habitat for Humanity as “angels without wings.”
“God has to use somebody. We thank God for the instrument being used. They are like angels without wings.”
Daban, 44, lived in temporary housing provided by relatives in Caroni with her a 16-year old daughter, Shelly Ann.
“It was just a place where relatives who had nowhere to go could stay until they got something better,” she said.
Daban, a National Maintenance Training and Security Company Ltd worker, said she had gotten a plot of land in Cashew Gardens about three years ago in the Land for the Landless programme where recipients were chosen by random draws.
“I went to the T&T Mortgage Finance Company right after to get a loan to build a house but was told I didn’t qualify because my fortnightly salary of $1,400 was too small,” she said.
She said Habitat for Humanity got her name and those of the other five other recipients from different agencies and she received a call from them one day last year.
“Through them, I got my house built and Shelly Ann and I will be moving in for Christmas. I thank God I have my own house.”