THE Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, on Monday, handed over two cheques to the wives of two seamen who never returned home after their vessel ‘Oliva L’ disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean last December.
The captain, Wexton Andrews, alias ‘Mampee’, and crew member, Ramdat Roopnarine, have not been found since the vessel went missing on its return journey to Guyana.
Making the presentation of the vouchers was subject Minister,  Jennifer Webster, and the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Ms. Loreen Baird.
Webster explained that, after the disappearance last year, her ministry has been assisting the women financially as a support mechanism.
The Minister also spoke of her ministry’s earlier commitment to ensure that the women are involved in micro projects that will see them caring for themselves and immediate families.
It was that promise, by the Ministry, that saw the women receiving the grants on Monday, to help them start their own businesses.

APPRECIATION
Expressing her appreciation to the Ministry, Kamaldai Chuchoo said the money will assist her in starting a poultry business.
She explained that, since her husband did not come back, she has been finding it a bit strenuous to care for her three children.
She said the monthly stipend she has been receiving from the Ministry played a very big part in their survival as her husband was the sole breadwinner.
Chuchoo broke down into tears after recounting the first few days when they realised that something was wrong at sea. She said her husband’s employer paid them little attention and showed no sense of gratitude, to the family, for the role he played while in his employ.
She also remembered the failure of the police, at Leonora Station on the West Coast of Demerara, to take the missing seamen report from the family and, instead, insisted that it was the owner of the vessel who should be reporting the occurrence.
According to Chuchoo, it was after the intervention of Public Works Minister Robeson Benn, Claudette Rogers of the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) and Human Services Minister Webster that they began to regain some form of hope in the system.

HOPING
Chuchoo said she is still hoping, one day, to see her husband walking through her gate or door.
Judy Hartman, wife of Captain Andrews, told reporters that the assistance to her was nothing short of timely as she really needed to get involved in an activity to adequately provide for herself and family, pointing out that the assistance means a lot to them.
She said her husband had promised to return home for their son’s birthday but did not. She last spoke with her husband on December 21, when he indicated that he was getting ready to head back to Guyana.
Like Chuchoo, Hartman thanked the Ministries of Human Services and Social Security and Public Works, for the aid they received in their time of depression and need.
Permanent Secretary Baird remarked that the donation from the Ministry is in keeping with its mandate of ensuring that it provides human service and offers social security to those in need of it.
She encouraged the women to use what they were given and expand their operations towards becoming independent.
Baird also conveyed the Ministry’s best wishes to the women and their families, acknowledging that the loss of a loved one and, in their case, the sole breadwinners, in any home is not something that can be easily accepted by those affected.