By Abdool A. Aziz

AT age 16, she was married off. At 17, she became a teenage mom. She was slender, frail and weak. She struggled to cope with motherhood and a delinquent husband. It was a nuclear family and they lived far away. Her main constraint was finance.

The income was insufficient to nourish the baby. The child grew up malnourished with weak muscles and bones rendering him bent at the shoulders and suspected tuberculosis. Five other children followed. The health of the mother was failing. The father began to bring in less income and took to the ‘bottle’. It was a struggle to survive. The home became dysfunctional and abusive.

TOO MUCH TO BEAR
The children were at a point of starvation. She couldn’t bear it. She abandoned the miserable marital home and took refuge at her parents. They were poor. She decided that she had to find a way to provide for her emaciated kids. Afraid of her husband who began to stalk her, she decided to do some trading in Nickerie, Suriname.

TRADING AND ITS ILLS
Travelling by land and boat to Suriname was tough. She spent nights sleeping on the stellings. Robbers prowled around. Even those hustling sex. Worst off are the Dutch customs who demanded money and sex to allow the merchandise to pass. She never gave in. Sometimes she endured fines even the lock-ups. Most times her goods were confiscated. And if she was lucky to pass, the Guyanese customs extracted their own tolls. The profit margin was slim. On one occasion, she brought home a loaf of bread and a tin of sardine. That was all she had to feed hungry mouths.

One of her schoolmates, wealthy and living in Georgetown offered her a domestic job. She had little schooling. But one day while his wife was out he tried to take advantage of her. She had vowed never to submit to prostitution. She refused so he fired her. Then she began to trade food items in the city. There too, there was not much profit but enough to soothe her childrens’ burning stomachs. Many made attempts to seduce her but she never gave in. She always said ‘salt and rice, but no sin’.

THE GOOD SAMARITAN
One day her cousin’s uncle-in-law saw her ordeal. She had to do some dirty cleaning chores to get a meal. He took pity on her. He saw how poor she was. His heart fell at her feet. He felt that he must do something to lift her life of poverty. But what? He was almost a cripple. He couldn’t take care of himself much less a mother and her children. But the power of pity overwhelmed him.

A NEW LIFE
He took her and rented a dilapidated house in Albouystown. She turned that smelly and putrid shack into a home. And one by one the children settled in. In that very abode, he began to give private lessons and earn money. Though cramped in this small dwelling, they all lived happily under one roof.

AN ASSET AT LAST
He was able to buy her a new home in her maiden name. Finally, she had an asset in security. He fathered her children who were humble, simple and obedient. They were deprived of a full education but were resourceful. These children were not stepchildren or his blood but gifts from God. The youngest is now 45, a great mother and social worker. The eldest son is a Philatelist and numismatist. The rest live overseas. They have no vices and good life. That angel of good is now in heaven. She was a woman of character.