By Michel Outridge

THIS week the Pepperpot Magazine visited the far-flung community of Naamless, East Bank Essequibo.

At that time, preparations were being made to facilitate road works, much to the delight of residents. Villagers related that an asphaltic road will make the community more accessible and schoolchildren will no longer have to wade through mud and loam to get to and from school.

A new all-weather road will be built next week, the Pepperpot Magazine was told by road workers. The small farming community of Naamless Village, East Bank Essequibo, is located between Present Hope and Bendroff villages and is home to about 100 residents and has less than 50 houses.

It is about two villages away from Morashee, the last village along that corridor which is almost forgotten because it is not easily accessible, because of the bad road.

This village is located a few miles from Parika and can be accessed by road and by boat. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel with the new all-weather asphaltic road, making it accessible to all categories of vehicles.

Meanwhile, in April 2019, residents of Naamless benefitted from improved potable water service from the water company, the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) after they reactivated the Hubu Well Station.

During a visit by GWI’s Managing-Director, Dr. Richard Van-West Charles, last year, residents expressed their concern about the very low water pressure they were receiving and sometimes none at all.

The village was previously served by the Vergenoegen Water Treatment Plant.
A new well was drilled and the Hubu Well Station service was activated and today, residents are receiving potable water in their homes.

The Pepperpot Magazine spoke to Gwendolyn Kingston, who said she is pleased that after many years they are receiving potable water.

She stated that the quality of the water needs improvement, but at the same time everything takes time.

Kingston reported that the water is a bit muddy and has an odour, but she would add some bleach to make it usable for her laundry.

“Even though the water quality needs to improve, the fact is we getting water and it is better than none at all like before and we are still thankful,” she said.

Kingston told the Pepperpot Magazine that about 10 years ago the road was asphalted, but when the tide is high, over time, it washed away the road and it was never paved, only loam was graded into a road.

She explained that when it rains, the makeshift road is often a mess and it is difficult for schoolchildren to traverse and vehicles have some difficulty navigating the potholes.
She is pleased that they will finally get a good road under this administration and was thankful.

Kingston related that she is a local who grow up in Naamless Village and she likes it there because it is peaceful; she has her own small business like many residents.
“I recently spent five months in the US but here is home for me and I like my country because Guyana is such a paradise people don’t even know how fortunate they are to escape many natural disasters and so on,’ she said.

Kingston added that with good road and better water service, things are looking good for them and they are looking forward to more development within the community.
“Before we got potable water supply, we used to depend on rainfall water to drink and cook. We used to go down by the river (Essequibo River) to bathe and fetch water to do chores. Who can afford it have black tanks to catch rainwater, so we are thankful for small mercies,” she said.

Kingston reported that even though Naamless is a small community the people are cooperative and support each other because most of them are farmers and others have small businesses, earning an honest living.

The 65-year-old added that she is a mother of seven and worked single-handedly to raise her children and is proud of their accomplishments to date, because they all made something of themselves.

She has 23 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.