VETALINE Edwin is a Paramakatoi, Region 8 (Potaro/Siparuni) resident, who has adapted to city life, having ventured into the world of work in Georgetown.

The 19-year-old currently resides with a guardian at Better Hope, East Coast Demerara and is employed at the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL) as an advertising clerk.

In 2012, Edwin, who comes from a family of seven, including her parents, from deep into the valley of Paramakatoi, was selected for a two-year scholarship programme through the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.

She successfully completed the Government Technical Institute (GTI) Computer Science programme and was on an August holiday work-study attachment at GNNL; after her attachment ended, she was asked to stay on.

Edwin’s stint started on June 2 and ended on August 16 and based on her assessment, she was offered a full- time job at GNNL.

This spritely young lady says she is homesick and reminisces on her life and family back home, a village she can never part from and a place she calls “home.”

Edwin told this publication that she likes her job, because it allows her to interact with many people on a daily basis and it is quite interesting.

She said that in Paramakatoi life is simple; there is no telephone service and the only way of communicating with her folks is via internet calls.

Electricity is supplied through a solar system or by windmills; and only when it rains water is stored for consumption, and washing is done at a nearby creek.

She added that her village is nestled deep in the valley between mountains and is about a mile-long walk from the airstrip.

Edwin said that Paramakatoi is accessible only by air and a one-way ticket costs $29,000 and the return one-way fare is $18,000. The last time she visited was last year August.

Paramakatoi has a secondary school which is often over-crowded and is in need of trained teachers.

Paramakatoi is a community in the Potaro-Siparuni region and it is 11 miles east of Kurukabaru.

(By Michel Outridge)