MARCOS GONSALVES
marcos@herald-goa.com
FATORPA: The 13-year-long struggle of Juvanita Fernandes (44), from Horna-Fatorpa to have a pucca house comes to an end after Jennifer Fernandes and the members of Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SSVP) took the initiative. Since her husband went missing in Mumbai, who had apparently gone in search of a job, Juvanita had to endure several hardships to get her application approved for financial assistance to repair her house.
The concerned government department had rejected her application citing improper documents, but failed to provide much needed guidance.
Speaking to Herald, Juvanita, who still hopes that her husband will come back, said she never thought that one day they will have their own pucca houses. “Yes, we struggled a lot for the last 13 years. We managed to live in a hut just like the migrants living on the roadside with huts covered with tarpaulin. It was worse than that,” she began to narrate her struggle.
“I even tried to take benefits of the government schemes pertaining to financial assistance to build the house. To my bad luck, all efforts went in vain due to the remark from the concerned department stating that I have no proper documents in place,” said Juvanita.
Noticing the pathetic conditions, Jennifer Gonsalves e Fernandes, then President of SSVP, Cotta-Fatorpa committee of St. Vincent de Paul, along with other members of the association reached out to her with a helping hand.
” I thought of doing something for them. I proposed the case with our members. Side by side I managed to inquire about the government scheme pertaining to financial assistance,” said Jennifer.
