By Michel Outridge
Patrick McCloud is a resident of Bushy Park, East Bank Essequibo and when the team caught up with him, he had just returned home from work.

With his mask, he related that he is a security guard at one of the big stores in Parika and just made a dash home for a quick bite.

He is originally from the North West District and had been residing in Bushy Park for the past two years with his wife, in a well-kept house.

“I just come home for a quick bite, I hungry bad and can’t talk now because I have to go back to the worksite, a store before the lunch period is over,” he said.

At 70 years old McCloud said he still has to work for a living to support himself and wife since all the children are grown and doesn’t live with them.
The Pepperpot Magazine also encountered another resident, Kenrick Ifill, who was operating his manual pushcart, going on a job.

“I doing this work for 13 years now simply because I wanted to work with myself and I made this wooden cart to push and carry load,” he said.

Ifill added that he is from Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara and has two children and a wife to support.

“I does operate from Parika Junction, just by the bus park and carry whatever goods or bags for people at a reasonable price,” he said.

He explained that he never wanted to do any government work and feels better as a self-employed person even though it is hard, back-breaking labour.

Ifill, a very approachable and patient man told the team that he does charge a fair price depending on the load he has to carry via his manual pushcart named “One More Night” and is number 43.

He told the Pepperpot Magazine that at Parika Junction there are about 120 manual push-carts in operation and one has to vie for work, especially people taking the ferry or came off the ferry.
Ifill noted that despite the pandemic he remains optimistic that we will survive to see better days even though things area at standstill presently.

He related that the name “One More Night” on his push-cart means he lives to see another night or day and it suits him.

The team also met Medwin Gibson, who was with a friend on a bicycle with a mixed game bird (fighter fowl).

The young man said his bird is not a game one and was a pet, he has a few birds in his yard and he is very fond of them.

“I does mind these birds and I am not involved in game fighting at all,” he said.

When the team net him, he was on his way home to take his bird which he was holding.