AT 85 years old, she remains employed as a Box Supervisor, a position she has now held for over 40 years.
Ms Mavis Welch of Reliance Settlement, East Canje, Berbice, was thrust into single parenthood after her husband, George, a welder at Rose Hall Sugar Estate, died in 1966 at age 30, leaving her behind with two under-aged children.

Prior to his demise, she was a stay-at-home mom, caring for Carol, now deceased, and Michael.

With a desire to put food on the table, one Sergeant Jackman informed her that selections for rural constables were ongoing at Reliance Police Station, and that she should apply.
“The pay was good. We later started to contribute to the National Insurance Scheme. As a rural constable, I was tasked with escorting prisoners from New Amsterdam Prison to the Brickdam Station. I also had to take young females to the Girls’ School at Belfield, East Coast Demerara and also to watch over female inmates hospitalised at the New Amsterdam hospital.

“But as the children grew, so did the demands. I added to my employment, a job as a sweeper/cleaner at the-then St Patrick’s Anglican School, now Rose Hall Estate Primary where Rev. Lingley asked me if I wanted to work with the Ministry of Education as an invigilator.
“It was in 1968. I did not hesitate. Immediately I applied, and was accepted. I worked in the district of East Canje/New Amsterdam for six years before being placed at the Reliance Police Station as a Box Supervisor in 1974.

“In that capacity, I was tasked with receiving from the Education Officer unwritten examination papers for Grades Two, Four and Six, at the Primary level, Grade Nine, Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) at the Secondary level, the Guyana Technical Education Exams for post-secondary students, and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), and the Association of Business Executives (ABE) for professionals. The papers would be placed in boxes, before being stored at Central Police Station, where they remain until the date set for examinations.

“On completing the examinations, the supervisors would return with the written sheets, sign the relevant log sheets before replacing them in their respective boxes, and placing them in a vault for which I had a key, and a police officer had another.
“However, things did not always go as smoothly as planned, especially when waiting for Grade Six examination papers coming from Baracara and Canje River.

Many times the papers arrived very late, way into the night. In those instances, because of the Good Friday/Easter weekend, those documents had to be taken to the Department of Education, in the district, where they would remain until the next working day.
“Another late keeper was the Electronic Document Preparation and Management (EDPM) examinations, especially when schools did not have the required amount of computers, resulting in students having to wait for their peers to complete their exams before they had a chance to do theirs.”

Ms Welch said in some instances she was at the station until almost midnight. At those times she would take a taxi to go home. She chuckled whilst tilting her head to the side.
Reminiscing over her struggles and achievements over the years, Ms Welch sighed: “I don’t know how I coped.”
But she quickly added: “My son, a Government of Guyana scholarship awardee had been very supportive.

“My son was a contented child. He went to school without soles on his shoes. He sold cigarettes at a nearby cinema to assist us. He was an encourager. He braced me all along and we made it.”

Despite her age, retirement is not envisioned in the near future. ‘I love what I do, she says. “I get an opportunity to interact and to read, so I will be here for as long as the Lord allows me.’

Ms Welch has a strong message for those like her. “I want women who are thrust into single parenthood, especially those whose husbands are dead to educate and empower, so that they can elevate themselves.
“Don’t be pitiful of yourself. Don’t run into relationships, they may hurt you. Pay attention to YOU and trust in the Lord, and He will see you through,” she advised.