The hardworking men of Ross Village

By Michelle Outridge

IN Ross Village, West Coast Berbice, the men are regarded as ‘go-getters’ because they do more than one job to have a comfortable life for themselves and their families.

One such man is rice farmer Lindsford McKay, who also has livestock, a farm and is the village barber.

The father of two was grazing his cows when the Pepperpot Magazine caught up with him at Ross Public Road.

“I would wake up at 03:00hrs to start my chores, go backdam to tend to my rice crops and graze my cows, then take them in and take in a few clients to cut hair if business is there,” he said.

McKay was waiting on his cows to have their fill before taking them home after which he would shower and have a rest.

He stated that he likes to finish his chores by 17:00hrs, just in time to watch the news to get an idea of what is happening in the country and farther afield.

“I have lived all my life here and in this village, you can’t depend on one job, you have to do other things on your own to make it financially; and I try to provide for myself and family,” he said.

He would cut the hair of his clients under his bottom house, since he doesn’t have a barbershop. The money from this venture would add up to do things in the home, he said.

McKay told the Pepperpot Magazine that apart from barbering he has some cows, sheep and horses he would tend to.

The 42-year-old reported that as a ‘village man’ he has four acres of land, on which he cultivates rice in the backlands of the village and that, too, brings in an income.

“Rice farming was handed down through my generation and now it is my turn to plant rice. Even though it is not an easy task I am up for it,” he said.

Former soldier turned miner
The Pepperpot Magazine also met another villager, a former soldier, who is now a miner, Ekland Walters.

The father of two disclosed that Ross Village is his home and it is the only place where he feels comfortable.

Narrating his life, Walters stated that after school he wanted a permanent job and his option was to join either the Guyana Police Force or the Guyana Defence Force, so he chose the latter.

As a soldier, he gained experience in the field of work and travelled across Guyana, where the army has bases and camps.

However, after serving 20 years, he retired as a staff sergeant but disclosed that his time in the army moulded him to become a better person and the knowledge gained is irreplaceable.

Today, Walters is a miner and he spent some years in that job, mostly in the interior of Guyana.

He described life in Ross Village as good and peaceful where the people are one and they live in harmony with no racial tensions or bias.

“I took a break from work and I am home relaxing until I go back to work; so I am making full use of the time here,” he said.

An 82-year-old security guard
The Pepperpot Magazine also met a vocal resident, an elder, Neville Ceres, who is very young at heart and was up for a ‘lively’ chat.

At age 82, he still works as a security guard at Onverwagt, a few villages away.

He has 23 grandchildren and is the father of 11 and is hopeful his granddaughter becomes a nurse, a career she has applied for and is awaiting a response.

Ceres has spent 10 years in the security area, a job he works at nights and during the day he would be at home.

“The secret to living so long is good food like porridge and home-grown vegetables and fresh fruits,” he said.

He, however, stressed that life would be better in Ross Village if more can be done to enhance the community such as good roads, street lights and more infrastructure for farmers.

“The leaders in the village should listen to our complaints and try to address them, but when they have these ‘bottom house’ meetings, I don’t hear about it,” he said.

Ceres disclosed that in his younger days, he used to work with the manganese company in Region One (Barima-Waini) Matthews Ridge but after some years he returned to his home village of Ross.

This elder gentleman worked with the manganese company in the 1960s for six years and upon his return to the village, he worked with the then Ballast Needam Larco Company which did drainage and irrigation works.

Having worked all those years, Ceres reported that he used to pay National Insurance Scheme (NIS) contributionss but to date, his records cannot be located as such, he is not benefitting from an NIS pension.