The first took place in Quartier d'Orléans on June 7, the second on 13 at Sandy-Ground and the third will take place this Friday, June 14, in Quartier d'Orléans, from 9 a.m. The appointment is made!
Since the passage of Irma, several inhabitants still live under tarpaulins and the Building Companions continue to repair roofs. Beneficiaries are selected by a commission according to their situation and must meet certain criteria.
“Since the opening of our resource center at the beginning of April in Sandy Ground, a local resident has come to ask for help with his house. He lives in a flood zone and his file cannot therefore be presented to the committee. There was 1,50 meters of water at his home during Irma. He has since succeeded in putting a few sheets back on his roof and has returned to the premises with a young child, ”explains Thierry Ghouila, technical coordinator of resource centers for Companion builders, who therefore sought alternative solutions to provide him with ugly.
The Companion builders offer free workshops open to everyone to learn the basics of DIY: small electricity, plumbing, painting, making salvaged wood furniture ... To mix theory and practice, they decided to launch solidarity projects during from which workshop participants can apply what they have learned, while improving the habitat of people in need. Laurence, 52, learned about the workshops from the press and started participating in them a few weeks ago. She particularly appreciates being able to reproduce what she learned during the first tiling workshop a week earlier. "It is also beneficial in everyday life, to help those who need a helping hand," she considers.
After participating in a workshop on the framework, the Compagnons Bâtisseurs carried out the first solidarity project in Quartier d'Orléans on June 7. Thursday, June 13, the second site was held at Sandy Ground, corresponding to the second “tiling” workshop, this time carried out by the owner who came to ask for help. The objective was to lay tiles in a room of the house. Marine, 29, participated in the first workshops last November. "As I have time, I continued and registered for those on wood, then suddenly I did the one on plumbing and there I followed the one on the tiling in order to participate in the solidarity workcamp »She confides
Five learners and volunteers answered the call, including four women. They were supervised by Thierry Ghouila, helped by Johnson in civic service, and Melchior, a business school student who is currently doing an internship with the Compagnons Bâtisseurs. “I have just arrived on the island and I am hosted by my loving family and help them repair their house which has gone bad with Irma. We don't have a lot of budget and take advantage of the tools loaned by Les Compagnons Bâtisseurs. I love mutual aid and this principle of exchange: giving and receiving, that's why I participate in the workshops, ”says Sarah, 45. Anthony, 32, was unemployed for a month and wanted to take advantage of this free time to "help and learn things in an area where [he] knew nothing". Georgina, 45, describes herself as "a great handyman". "We lost everything with Irma so I wanted to learn the basics to work quickly and do work at home to keep costs down." She was also won over by the principle of solidarity work: “we are all in the galley, and some more than others. Solidarity after Irma was lost too quickly ”.
In one morning these volunteers will not have time to finish tiling the room. "The beneficiary can continue alone. We will provide him with the necessary equipment and materials as this solidarity project was carried out as part of the training, ”says Thierry Ghouila. For the next solidarity projects, the Companions are launching a call for donations (painting, tiling, carpentry, electricity, plumbing, hardware, etc.).
They also point out that people who need a helping hand for work in their home can go to the Sandy Ground and Quartier d'Orléans resource centers where they hold office hours from Tuesday to Friday from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm or by phone at 0690174223.
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