YVONNE Patricia Hercules is a retired headmistress of Mabaruma Primary School, who was in the teaching profession for 32 years and says that the community is on the move since being made into a town.

The 72-year-old resident of Mabaruma told the Pepperpot Magazine that long before the place attained township status, there has always been a hive of activities, causing the population to grow with the increased movement of people and businesses.
Hercules related that they have schools from nursery to secondary and spend 32 years at Mabaruma Primary School and was lucky to remain at that school for those years.

“I born in the Waini River, Region One [Barima-Waini], but came to Mabaruma when I was five years old and attended Mabaruma Primary School. At that time it was known as St. Joseph RC, the Roman Catholic School,” she said.

Hercules stated that after she completed Teachers’ Training College, she taught at the Mabaruma Primary School, the very school at which she was a pupil.

“ I was lucky after completing my studies, even though I was placed at a school in the city, I fought ‘tooth and nail’ to get to come back here,” Hercules said.

The senior citizen pointed out that she wanted to return to her village and serve the community and that she did for 32 years and today, she feels good about it.

“At that time, I was living further [sic] down the road. I got married a little before going to the teachers’ college. I took up residence in our family house when I came back and I still live in this house because I wanted to stay here all these years,” she said.

Hercules told the Pepperpot Magazine that after she retired from teaching in 1992, that is, more than 20 years ago, she went into politics for five years and held the post of regional chairman during that period until she exited the political arena.

“I felt there was a need for me to do my own thing and today, I do basically whatever I want since I have the time for such activities like cutting my own grass, sewing, attending church and related events, plus I make homemade ice cream from local fruits in the community to sell at Kumaka Market,” Hercules said.

The pensioner added that she retired from teaching at age 46 and she is active and feels that is what keeps her motivated.

Hercules explained that with the children all grown up and living their lives elsewhere, it is just she and her husband and she has to keep going, but she has enough to do.
She also dabbles in dressmaking, a hobby she has been interested in since the age of 13. She had been pulling a lot of late nights doing chores and spending hours in dressmaking during her days at home.

Opportunities
In detailing the opportunities of pupils in that region, Hercules said education-wise they have grown in that children are making the most of their schooling from nursery to secondary.

She disclosed that they are competing at both primary and secondary levels with their counterparts in the various regions and have excelled and are attending high schools in the city.

Hercules added that they have produced excellent students, who have gone on to the University of Guyana and other tertiary institutions to further their education.
She reported that the region continues to excel in terms of education, since more schools are being established and children are given more opportunities to perform at their full potential.

“Some return, some stay on out there for various reasons. I mean, I don’t blame them because some want to do more tertiary education and so on,” she said.
She describes life in Mabaruma as ‘never having a dull moment, because there is so much to do and there is just one of her.

Hercules related that there is no non-governmental organisation (NGO) input into that community, noting there is a need for skills training for youths to be gainfully employed, since some are not academically inclined.

She stated that some folk in the community are employed in government offices and the schools, while a few are dressmakers and others are self-employed.