By Michel Outridge

GOLDEN Grove, East Bank Demerara, is a place which is home to many interesting folk, most of whom have stories to tell.

This village, a sprawling housing scheme, located about 11 miles from Georgetown, boasts an occupancy of over 40,000 residents and is regarded as one of the Ministry of Communities’ largest emerging urban areas.

This area also accommodates two housing schemes, that is, Kaneville and Samatta Point, making it a large catchment area with added value to properties.

With so much happening, the entire physical landscape of the area has been transformed and has heightened the importance of the East Bank corridor in the scheme of development.

A resident, Teneika Hunte, told the Pepperpot Magazine that she has been living at Golden Grove for the past 20 years.

“I find life here to be ideal for me, because it is a busy place yet quiet and once you have a job you can make it,” she said.

The 26-year-old is the Nurse-in-Charge of the Golden Grove Health Centre and mother of one, who is very dedicated to her job; so much so, she goes in on weekends to upkeep the records along with a colleague, Midwife Hazel Europe.

“This community has adopted township status because we have a lot of businesses and other facilities here and we don’t have to travel to the city for some services and goods, which are sourced within this area,” she said.

Hunte told the Pepperpot Magazine that Golden Grove has many stores such as Lucky Dollar, vision care outlets, Time Square a mall, many churches, temple, masjid, shops, bars, taxi services, wash bays, schools–both public and private–a police station, a health centre, meat centres, hardware depots and a lot of roadside shops and stalls vending from greens, to fresh fruits.

She related that the village is one of doctors, fishermen, farmers, members of the Joint Services, nurses, teachers, self-employed folk and many who work in offices in the city.

“I don’t go to church every Sunday, but every other Sunday, due to work, we come in on Saturdays to upkeep our records at the health centre,” she said.

Hunte stated that Golden Grove is the preferred place for her and family; she is the firstborn of seven siblings and serves as a role model to her peers.

The Pepperpot Magazine also met Desmond Balram, a re-migrant, who has been back in Guyana for the past seven months. He is a roadside hot dog/ burger vendor, who rents a push cart for $48,000 per month, which he finds difficult to pay. Balram said he is a Guyanese who left this country many years ago for Venezuela, where he had a similar business. Owing to the economic crisis there however, he was forced to return with his family.

Balram added that he did many jobs over the past seven months; these included an assistant cook at a Chinese restaurant, but he had to quit because of poor wages and the unsanitary condition of the place. The 50-year-old suffers from diabetes, but is trying to make ends meet by having a steady job, in order to provide for his wife and children.

“I doing this business for three weeks now but not making a profit, but I got to try because three children and a wife cannot feed themselves plus bills and rent,” he said.

Balram added that though things are financially hard for him, he will keep working because he is accustomed to hard work since the age of 14, when his parents died; he was then forced to enter the world of work to sustain himself.

“I will continue to work no matter what, because I don’t take what doesn’t belong to me and I am honest too,” he said.

Meanwhile, the men over at Platinum Taxi Service were eager to have a chat with the Pepperpot Magazine and said they provide a reliable, safe and confidential service to the people of Golden Grove and its environs.

Taxi driver Jermaine Liverpool, one of 17 drivers at this base, related that they work in unison and have a ‘wait-your-turn’ system.

He noted that the business has been in existence for the past 10 years and their service is very affordable; while they are awaiting passengers, they engage in constructive discussion and play friendl card games.