Dominica: Melissa Skerrit shares photos of 60 resilient homes to be handed over on Thursday

Dominica: The images of 60 new climate resilient homes that will be handed over on Thursday morning was shared by the housing minister Melissa Skerrit on Facebook.  

The homes, in green, blue and red colour are all dolled up according to the personal preferences of the recipients of Dominica. 

Melissa Skerrit said the homes will make a perfect Christmas gift for the recipients, “Some have already started their backyard gardens and putting personal touches! With hurricane resilient homes ready for future development we wish all the recipients a blessed and happy Christmas.”  

The homes will be handed over as part of Dominica Government’s Housing Recover Project (HRP), as well as with support of the 11th European Development Fund Programme. “With hurricane resilient homes ready for future development we wish all the recipients a blessed and happy Christmas,” added Minister Melissa Skerrit.  

Shedding more light on the HRP programme, the housing minister further emphasized the key areas the Government is transforming lives and providing “hope for people”.  

In the end of the year press conference earlier last week, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit also emphasized the joy of home ownership. He had remarked that the delivery of new homes will help the recipients being the new year with a fresh start.  

These homes that have been provided to the beneficiaries are at no cost with PM Skerrit noting that the government remains grateful that they are able to provide the deserving families with this significant assistance.  

Reportedly, currently there are over 30 homes currently under construction Islandwide. Moreover, the Government of Dominica aims to construct a total of 5,000 climate resilient homes, and hand-over to the victims of Hurricane Maria, and Tropical Storm Erika.   

42 homes handed over in March this year 

The year 2024 started with the first housing handover in March. Over 42 individuals were given new houses.  

Earlier in March also, 42 deserving individuals became the recipients of the new homes under the Dominica’s Housing Recovery Project. 

Dominica Housing Recovery Project 

The Dominica Housing Recovery Project was launched by the government in partnership with the World Bank. It is a island wide project which is designed to build resilience in the housing sector by assisting safe reconstruction according to the internationally recognized standards.  

This project includes the reconstruction of around 450 dwellings which were destroyed by Hurricane Maria in 2017. 

Since its launch in 2019, the program has served as a beacon of hope for the impacted individuals. 

It is also reported that to date around 291 homes have been handed over through the Housing Recovery Project.  

Handover ahead of Christmas in 2023 

Even last year, ahead of the Christmas the Government of Dominica had handed over 73 homes, including 22 beneficiaries from the Kalinago Community.  

The standout feature of the program is that the families are provided with homes at no cost and it is also widely lauded, particularly by those who have been affected by natural disasters.  

PM Skerrit also attributed this accomplishment to the housing policies of the government to ensure affordable housing for a number of citizens.  

Notably, the government of Dominica aims to build 5000 climate resilient homes by 2030 and of these around over 2000 have already been constructed and handed over to the citizens as a symbol of hope for those impacted by the Category five Hurricane Maria.  

With their continuous efforts, the government is moving forward in achieving its goal of providing 5000 homes by the year 2030 and become the world’s first climate resilient nation.