–with all the trimmings, housemother promises

FOR the eight girls living at the Sad’r Shaheed’s Girls Orphanage in Oleander Gardens, East Coast Demerara, this Christmas will be just as if they were at their own homes, with all the goodies, the decorations, and the Christmas Tree.

According to Shanti (only name given), a trained housemother, the girls are treated as normal children and not as orphans, as they all have parents; just that they come from difficult circumstances.

The girls are aged six to 17, and regarded as ‘one big family’, in that they live like sisters and help out with the chores. And under her guidance, they also help each other with homework.

Shanti told the Guyana Chronicle that the children benefit from well prepared meals of their choice, are well cared for, and attend school regularly. At Christmastime, the meals are even more sumptuous, and there are toys galore.

When the Guyana Chronicle visited the orphanage a few days ago, the girls were observed putting the finishing touches to the decorations in the living room.

The huge Christmas Tree was fully decorated, with ornaments and fairy lights, and there were a number of gift-wrapped items strewn beneath it.

“For the girls here,” Shanti said, every day is like Christmas because they get the best of the basic necessities, including food, from donors on a daily basis.”

At Christmastime, too, the older ones also get to enjoy a few non-alcoholic beverages, and they also have a huge Christmas party with a little music and so on.

They also get to attend their respective school’s Christmas Party.

The six-year-old told this newspaper that for Christmas, she would like to have some dolls to add to her collection of ‘pretty dolls’, while the nine-year-old said that she, too, likes dolls. The older girls said they are not interested in toys; just the goodies.

Recently, two of the girls went home to their families, while some have been there for many years, just like Shanti, 58, who left her Essequibo Coast home and her family to be a housemother to the girls.

A humanitarian at heart, Shanti said it’s not about the money, as she genuinely likes what she does. Being a housemother, she said, comes with a lot of responsibilities. It’s also a lot of work; round-the-clock, because she does it single-handedly.

According to the girls, Christmas at the Sad’r Shaheed’s Girls Orphanage in Oleander Gardens is something to look forward to.