When Victor Dell first applied for a Government house he was a young man looking for a start in life. Forty-five years later, Dell, now a pensioner, the father of two and a husband, finally received the keys to a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) home. He was handed the keys by Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal in a simple ceremony at Exchange Village housing development,Couva.
Describing his house as a dream come through, 74-year-old Dell said: "I always trust in God and I always feel the best will come some day. I never gave up. I kept re-applying throughout those years." He admitted, though, that he did not bother to re-apply when the People's Partnership assumed office.
"I say, well, it all over for me," he said, recalling he was surprised last year when he received a phone call from HDC officials. Dell hopes his son and daughter, who applied for homes over nine years ago, will not have to wait as long as he did. Moonilal said the HDC had distributed homes to 20 per cent of the applicants who had applied over 15 years for homes but still had over 800 such applicants waiting.
Moonilal said Dell's story was one of hope, veracity and resilience. Describing Dell as a Trinidadian hero, Moonilal said he represented all the values and quantities of a true citizen. He said they were looking at adopting a policy of giving applicants homes close to their root community.
In that way, he said, people would remain near their friends and family and would be able to look out for each other. Also attending the simple function yesterday were HDC CEO Jearlean John, HDC chairman Hinckel Lall and Couva North MP Ramona Ramdial.