–say proud mothers of Region Six top achievers

PARENTS make sacrifices every day for their children. “They do it so their children can have a bright future and get things we nah been get when we were their age,” says Manachi Soami, mother of one of Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne)’s top ten achievers at this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).

Manachi is the mother of Denish Somai, the aspiring lawyer whose 508 marks has earned him a place at one of the country’s top secondary schools.

Words cannot describe the way she felt when she heard the good news, the humble mother of four said, as neither she nor her husband, who is a cane-cutter, ever attended secondary school.
Noting that it is a dream of theirs to ensure that the same fate never befalls their children, Manachi said:
“Me nah shame fuh tell you; meh husband ah wan cane-cutter and me does sell ah market pon a Saturday. None ah we never been ah high school; we nah get education, but we a struggle hard fuh mek ends meet fuh mek sure dem get one.”

Manachi said she is currently contemplating selling daily at the market so as to ensure that her four children, aged 13, 11, seven, and three months, get all the financial support they need for their education.
“Now is out-ah-crop, suh meh husband nah get regular work, and me gat fuh get school stuff fuh dem three big one fuh September, suh meh might start fuh sell every day fuh mek sure dem get everything, ‘cause he alone can’t support all awe,” she declared, her voice redolent with pride at her son’s academic achievement.

For Devi Ramlochan, raising three kids on a taxi driver’s income is extremely difficult, but with her help, she and her husband have managed to make ends meet, so one can well imagine their pride at their son becoming this year’s top achiever at the NGSA in Region Six.
Devi explained that when her husband leaves home at 06:00h every morning and returns at seven in the evening, she has to take up the role of the father as well as mother to her children so that her husband can earn enough to support them.

Her role besides that of a typical housewife entails taking her son by bicycle daily to the Belvedere Primary, a journey that takes at least 40 minutes to and fro. She has to make that trip three times a day: Morning, midday and afternoon.
But she does not mind, the young housewife said, as she’s now grown accustomed to doing it. And besides, she’s come to realise the importance of having at least one parent at home to take care of their three children, aged 15, 13, and 11, hence her decision to be a stay-at-home mom.

Devi said both she and her hubby were moved to tears when they got the news that their son had topped the region, because of the struggles they’ve gone through to make ends meet. But now, she’s more determined than ever to work even harder.