…UG’s Belizean couple aspires to build children’s home

THE loss of a child is often described as the ultimate tragedy for any parent, and Vanessa and Rahim Thimbriel have faced this devastation twice.
The pain of losing their first son was excruciating, but when they lost their second baby boy the following year, the Thimbriels were completely shattered.

“Our baby boy passed in 2015, and his brother passed away in 2016…roughly six months apart,” Vanessa Thimbriel told the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday.
The couple became so overwhelmed by grief that they packed up their lives and moved to Guyana from Cayo, Belize.

“Our families were worried sick. They call and checked up on us all the time…the new focus was our health,” Mrs. Thimbriel said. She explained that as a coping mechanism, she and her husband redirected their intense emotions towards their studies; four years later, they were content with the fruits of their efforts.

Vanessa, age 25, recently graduated from the University of Guyana (UG) with a Bachelor of Sociology Degree, passing with Distinction. Her 28-year-old husband, Rahim, graduated from the same institution with a Bachelor Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, passing with Credits; they dedicated their achievements to their fallen sons.

Reflecting on their time here in Guyana, the couple admitted that the journey to achieving their qualifications was a tough one. From experiencing intense bouts of homesickness, to manoeuvering the struggles of a global pandemic, Rahim and Vanessa relied on each other’s unending support.
Mr. Thimbriel said that even though their move to Guyana was greeted with an almost instant culture shock, their stint here has been wholesome, and even contributed to a more impactful academic experience.

“Vanessa even did a research proposal titled, ‘Challenges of an International Student’, where she talked about all the times we got lost trying to find a place, and our process to finding an apartment, and even our journey to making friends and so on,” the engineer informed.
As the months turned into years, Guyana had become their new home, and they had a newfound support system in the form of classmates, teachers, and Guyana’s relatively small Belizean community.

“We got together a lot of the times to cook our national dish, ‘rice and beans, chicken and salad’. We would go to the National Park, and we also met Mr. and Mrs. Porter, who took care of us like we were their kids,” a contented Mr. Thimbriel related.
As they continued their studies, Mr. Thimbriel maintained a part-time job of “drawing blueprints”, while his wife managed a thriving craft business.

BEATING COVID-19
The engineer said that they had begun experiencing the full beauty of life in Guyana when the novel coronavirus hit in March 2020. The uncertainties of the pandemic, coupled with the violence that erupted following the General and Regional Elections earlier in the month, was cause for much of the couple’s worries. The closure of schools and the abrupt switch to online learning further compounded their woes.

“All our classes went online…the dates were all pushed back, but we always kept up to date with the happenings globally and with the next steps the university was taking in terms of safety. We would always be checking emails and so,” Mrs. Thimbriel posited.

As it relates to the transition to virtual school, the Sociology graduate said that she and her husband adapted “rather quickly to the new mode of learning.”
She explained that most of the difficulties they experienced during the early days of the pandemic had to do with their lack of opportunities to socialise. “We really missed our peers, and our lecturers and just being on campus,” the young woman said candidly.

“Who would have thought that someday in late February would have been the last time we would see them [UG colleagues and friends],” Mr. Thimbriel interjected.
Once their courses were completed, the Thimbriels returned to their home in Belize in July, 2020. “Travelling was expensive and complicated because of all the restrictions,” Mrs. Thimbriel recalled.

Unfortunately, after a few months of being home, the Thimbriels contracted the coronavirus. Mr. Thimbriel told the Guyana Chronicle that he and his wife have always been each other’s support. Within the last few years, they have managed to overcome tremendous loss and a deadly virus.

“When days were difficult and when one of us felt like throwing in the towel, the other would say something like, ‘yu kyant kohm so faar fi gi up now’,” Mrs. Thimbriel related via text.
She said that she and her husband have always been great achievers, and that they continue to inspire each other to do even better, and to be even better.

Asked about their plans for the future, the Thimbriels maintained that traveling and exploring the world together has always been a shared dream; however, this is expected to take a brief pause, as they work towards building a children’s home for those in need.