AMERINDIAN communities in Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) have acknowledged the tremendous efforts by government to provide services aimed at improving lives of the residents. Ms. Valerie De Younge, Toshao of Lake Capoey, which has a population of 410, attested recently that government has been investing and spending “so much on us.”
She said they will soon benefit from improved water supply with the erection of a trestle, storage tanks and a solar pump, costing a total of nearly $5M.
Expressing their appreciation for the investment, De Younge said: “We are very happy to have such a water system put in place. We have been suffering here for the past years without one.”
She said they have been using water from the lake and, in the dry weather, the ponds although that is not safe to consume.
“So, at the moment, we are so excited and happy to start using the new water system that is expected to be completed very soon,” De Younge stated.
She reiterated thanks to the government, saying: “We, truly, do appreciate the works that have been done and we hope to have many more such investments. We plan and hope to work together with the government, as always.”
De Younge admitted that the government has been spending a lot on them and has transformed the village, with 69 solar panels, which is a huge achievement, as the children can now study in the night.
She said the villagers benefit from a brand new pavilion through the Presidential Grant of $1M and they also have a village office, an all purpose hall, although the subsidy for 2010 has not yet been uplifted.
De Younge said they do small scale cash crop farming and logging to sustain their livelihood.
At Lake Tapakuma (St. Deny’s), the 390 population is also getting a new trestle with storage capacity and a solar system to be installed, at a total cost of $3.5M, including a network that will go directly to the cassava mill, the Village Office, the school and the Health Centre.
The Toshao, Ms. Doreen Jacobis, said those facilities would, certainly, benefit the community immensely because water is essential and they depend on the creek and lake for their supply, which can be unsafe.
However, some villagers had to fetch from a spring, situated a long distance away from the village.
She said the additions will give them much benefit and improve their lives. Other improvements include the school, which has trained teachers and scholarships.
Jacobis said they too farm and have a cassava mill, where four women are employed and earns them some income while the men do lumbering for a living.
She said, presently, the health centre employee is on a training course and she is filling in voluntarily, having been the former midwife there.
Jacobis said they are also very happy over President Bharrat Jagdeo’s achievement of the Champion of the Earth award.
All the comments were made while Minister of Housing and Water, Mr. Irfaan Ali; Permanent Secretary in his ministry, Mr. Emile McGarrell and Regional Chairman, Mr. Alli Baksh visited the villages and later, joined by Mainstay/Wyaka Toshao, Ms. Yvonne Pearson, inspected a $3.6M water project being executed in the vicinity of a new housing scheme being funded by Food for the Poor.