SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, MAR. 1, 2001 (Zenit.org).- More than 300 families who lost their houses in the devastation caused by Hurricane George in September 1998, recently received homes in Santome, thanks to a project coordinated by the Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana.
Among those funding the project were official agencies, state banks, nongovernmental organizations, and the Caritas agencies here and in Spain.
The neighborhood of Nuevo Cepillo, as the cluster of new homes is called, has made possible the relocation of families whose residences were buried in a mudslide, after the Sabaneta dam burst during the hurricane´s heavy rains.
The new homes are duplex, prefabricated constructions, designed to resist earthquakes and hurricanes. They include a sitting room, kitchen, dining room, bedrooms, bathrooms, and washing room, and can be easily extended.
The Nuevo Cepillo project will be completed with an additional 132 homes before June, the month that cyclones begin in the Caribbean. The new center will include a water purifier and a sewerage network, the entire project amounting to $31 million.
The Foundation for the Development of Azua, San Juan, and Elias Pina (Fundapest), presided over by Bishop José Dolores Grullón, is responsible for the project.
