CARY Baird, a young man in his early 20s of St. Ignatius, Lethem, will never be able to leave his wheelchair, or more so walk again, but he continues to make the most of his situation and recently, is the reason behind the hosting of an art exhibition at the Cheshire Home.

Cary has been a resident at the home, at Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, for quite some time now after suffering a spinal cord injury. It is a residential facility for adults with disabilities.

When Peace Corps Volunteer Lisa Rudd discovered Cary’s artistic talent, she decided that his work must be put on display. Hence, they waited for the celebration of ‘Rehab Week’ to commence to display the drawings. (Rehab Week is celebrated from June 18 to 24)
When Cary had his injury, there was no facility in Lethem to care for him and so the ‘sisters’ of the Catholic Church got him into a facility at Berbice that mostly cares for the elderly.
“So here was this young man with all these old people. He was getting good care, but it

wasn’t appropriate. So they approached the management committee of the Cheshire Home and asked if they will take him. They said yes. Here, there were persons his age,” explained Senior Physiotherapist Barbara Lawrence of the Ministry of Public Health’s Rehabilitation Department.

“He would never walk again and be out of a wheelchair, but you can still teach him how to be independent at a wheelchair level and do things for himself. We started working with him, discovered he likes to draw and the Peace Corps Volunteer wanted to exhibit the drawings. He’s really blossomed and grown since he’s there,” expressed Lawrence.
Along with Cary’s large collection of work,

including portraits, animals and landscapes, other residents also displayed their arts and craft at the exhibition.

The Ministry of Public Health provides for the full care of the 26 residents here because many of them are profoundly disabled and were abandoned at birth. The nursing staff at this facility works in three shifts.
Meanwhile, just last year, the Cheshire Home reopened its library after almost 20 years, thanks to the efforts of Rudd and five residents of the home who helped to clean and organise the room.

Liza, whose stint in Guyana will end soon, has been volunteering at the said facility since July of 2015. When the relevant committee expressed an interest in re-opening the library, she thought that it would be a great community resource and an excellent project for the residents to be a part of. The library was transformed over a period of four months.

Last October 8, the Cheshire Home welcomed people from the village and neighbouring communities to join in the opening of the library.
Liza, alongside fellow volunteer Allee Schlitz, gave out fun gifts such as stickers and erasers to a group of excited students before reading popular children’s books such as Dora the Explorer and Frozen.