By Michel Outridge

AFTER spending 37 years in the teaching profession at Orealla, her hometown, Emma Cruickshank journeyed to Bamia, Soesdyke-Linden Highway to take up a teaching position at the then Unification Church.

She came to Bamia in 1999 after she officially retired from teaching in her village and has since settled somewhat, but still has the desire to return to Orealla.

Cruickshank came to Bamia with her daughter and three grandchildren and they still live with her, but she has six children in total, five of whom are in Orealla.

This senior citizen was recommended by the ministry for the teaching job in Bamia, a village with which she wasn’t familiar, but yet she was willing to take up the challenge of teaching because of her passion for the noble profession.

“I want to go back home, but when I think about the things that are happening, I hesitate because the hassles of travel with the boat and the water I am a bit concerned,” she said.

The 77-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that she taught at the Unification Church which had a school. There was, however, an issue with payment and the upkeep of the place and things dwindled away and the ministry took it over.

She taught for a few years before fully retiring from teaching and these days she passes her days reading, attending church and meetings.

The old Unification Church building is no more and it is now a pile of concrete taken over by bushes, a sad state of affairs, according to Cruickshank.

“From then to now I find living here is not easy, because we have a lot of challenges here; sometimes it can be very nice and other times very depressed and frustrating.
When it rains like now, we get water and when the dry spell comes we have to buy water from a water truck at a cost of $3,000 per black tank for well water and $2,000 per black tank for creek water. Sometimes we have to buy two tanks, so there is a cost attached to things here,” Cruickshank said.

Back in the days, this pensioner used to plant, but there is conflict with the land ownership so that ceased and with the pains of old age, she prefers a quiet, hassle-free life.

“I think the village should get potable water supply because a lot of children live here and we need clean water to use for our everyday life. We have solar power, not electricity,” Cruickshank said.

Although the population is sparse, she feels that people should be comfortable and not have to worry about basic things, such as potable water.

She related that a lot of young people leave the village in search of a better life, since there isn’t much happening in that area.

This elderly but spritely woman is very upbeat about life and has the blessings of good eye sight and health, except for some pains about the body.

When you talk to her you can feel how passionate she spoke of her days teaching, and it is as if she would rewind that time and start over again.

Cruickshank is an enthusiastic person who is full of life and has the energy of a teenager, who is always up for friendly banter.

She has however, learned to cope with life at Bamia Village, the place of lush lands and trees.