Bleak Christmas in Greenvale

CHRISTMAS breakfast for ten-year-old Joy Peloi will be pancakes made by her mother Maggie in their Greenvale home which has not been completely repaired following the October flood.

It will be the first time the standard three pupil will be returning to her home since the October 19 flooding. The family will spend the day at their home, cooking in a kitchen with no sink, sitting in their living room with no furniture and opening less gifts than usual.

Maggie has returned on several occasions to facilitate repairs by contractors hired by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). She believes, given the current pace and work still to be completed, that she and her daughter will return to their home in February.

“Whenever the workmen called I came, whether it was as early as 6 am, and stayed as late as 3 am. All that needs to be done is for the cabinets to be installed and the plumbing, after that is clean-up and paint. For Christmas, I will do lunch, her favourite, lasagne. We will be fine,” Maggie said adding that the dishes would be washed in her outdoor sink which was filled with dirt and silt yesterday.

Another resident a few houses away said her family were “Christmas people” but this year there would not be as much merriment as previous years. The secondary school teacher, who wished not to be identified, showed Sunday Newsday a stove donated by students of her husband’s fourth form students. The oven does not completely close but according to her, “It works better than the old one because you get an even baking.” She, like fellow Greenvale resident Freida Hosein, complained that contractors had done sub-par work and were asking that residents sign certificates of completion while work was outstanding.

HDC managing director Brent Lyons advised residents not to sign any documents if the work was incomplete. He said he would investigate the claims which Sunday Newsday heard from several residents. The completion certificates are needed for the contractors to collect their payment from HDC. Lyons said contractors were to be paid between $30,000 - $60,000 per unit depending on the level of work that was needed and some 40 contractors had been hired for Greenvale.

“We had hoped that all would be completed by Christmas. That did not happen and we did have an issue with contractors with regard to quality of work and capacity and we addressed the issue each time it came up, whether it was to change the contractor or have the work re-done.”

Another resident said she would spend her Christmas with her parents in Sangre Grande who were also affected by the October flooding that devastated several parts of Trinidad. She said, because of her distrust towards HDC and the contractors, she opted to do all the repairs herself then seek reimbursement wherever applicable.

Several residents said they did not use the HDC’s contractors and preferred to do their own repairs to save themselves from the stress of having to deal with them. Without a deadline in place, residents said they were at the mercy of contractors who, according to them, stopped work on Friday and would resume in the new year. In the interim, residents are opting to complete the remaining work on their own.

Last Friday, officials from HDC’s Social and Community Services visited the community and delivered hampers to some of the families in a paranderos-type atmosphere. It was part of HDC’s social outreach programme. Lyons then said it was necessary to provide a measure of comfort to the residents.