The poultry farmer
Satyanand Sukhanand called “Anand”, works on a poultry farm in Princetown Village. The 27-year-old stated that he oversees the daily operations of the poultry farm and has two employees he supervises and collectively they manage 1,000 chickens, which take seven to eight weeks to fully grow before they are sold to wholesale buyers.

He noted that the small business has been in operation over the past three years and he depends solely on that as his source of income. Sukhanand disclosed that he is from Black Bush Polder, but ended up living in Princetown Village because of work and over the years he has worked at different jobs.

The resident added that he has worked his way into the village and has no intention of moving and so far, he is employed and quite pleased about that. One of his employees, Delano Cruickshank, told the Pepperpot Magazine that he is the farmhand, who takes care of things on the poultry farm.

He is tasked with feeding the chickens, cleaning the large pens and the general upkeep of the place, a full-time job that entails long hours from early morning to late at night. “Someone set up this business and we are just working here and it is a job, so we do what we have to daily,” he said.

In Princetown there are several large-scale poultry farms and next door to this farm there is another which has many pens housing hundreds of chickens. The people also have cash-crop farms from micro to small and have been utilising the empty plots into gardens to earn in this village.

Living at a slower pace

Edward Profitt is one of the elders of Princetown Village, Upper Corentyne, Corriverton, Berbice and these days he is wheelchair-bound, having lost his toes on both feet as a result of diabetes. The 65-year-old stated that had he benefited from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) monthly payout, his life would have been comfortable.

He reported that he worked at many places but stayed the longest at Guysuco, at the Skeldon Sugar Estate from 1996 to 2005 and worked for 10 years as a shovelman/ranger. Profitt explained that he exited the estate before it closed due to ill health.

He sought medical intervention and was put on one week’s sick leave with medication; then more sick leave followed after which he was cleared for work, but based on the doctor’s recommendation he can do only light work.

Profitt added that he was placed in the fields to throw lease, a by-product of bagasse and could not manage that job, so he quit. “I only found out that none of my sick leave was sent in by the company as such, I never benefitted from sickness benefit and I am not receiving any NIS to date,” he said.

The elder disclosed that he was given a one-time NIS pay-out of $68,000 alone and nothing else when he left the sugar industry. He has since wrote many letters to NIS appealing his case but has never received any response yet and he is only getting $25,000 for old age benefit, a sum that is insufficient for his needs, since he is of ill health.

Profitt is living with relatives and when the team caught up with him he had just returned from the clinic and was taking some fresh air before going inside. He related that since he cannot walk it is costly for him to travel via taxi to go to the health centre and for his doctor’s visit and any time he has to leave home.