Bold step leads to a thriving business for remigrant
At just 18, Rovina Carrasquel manages her family’s business
At just 18, Rovina Carrasquel manages her family’s business

IN light of an ongoing economic crisis in Venezuela, many of its citizens have fled the oil-producing territory in search of a better life; the nationals left in search of refuge, while many of the country’s immigrants eagerly packed up and returned to their respective homeland.
One such person is Devika Bagwandeen, along with her husband, Goraj Chaitram, who returned to neighbouring Guyana— her homeland– in 2017.
Bagwandeen, who currently resides with her family at Affiance village in Essequibo, Region Two (Pomeroom-Supenaam), invested her limited resources into ‘Devi’s Party Collections,’ an events company located at Cotton Field village, also on the Essequibo Coast.
The company, she related, was launched in December, 2020, as a means of providing employment for her 18-year-old daughter, Rovina Carrasquel.
Bagwandeen said that her daughter has faced many hurdles on the job front, mainly owing to the fact that her “documents” are not in English translation.
“You know, life [was] very hard in Venezuela. I came back in 2017 and I wasn’t getting the job. I did a few courses at Essequibo Technical Institute here and yet that did not land me a job,” Carrasquel told the Guyana Chronicle.

A glimpse of what ‘Devi’s Party Collections’ looks like on the inside

The young lady, who possesses a passion for decorating and designing, has since taken over full responsibility for the day-to-day operations of Devi’s Party Collections. In addition to being able to expose her creativity side, Carrasquel is even more pleased about being gainfully employed.
With her leading the charge, the teenager said that even amid the coronavirus pandemic, her family’s business started off in a thriving manner, with the establishment receiving an overwhelming amount of support from residents of Essequibo.
However, the persistence of the pandemic has resulted in a notable decline in the company’s profits, particularly for the month of February. But, the family, like many others across the world, has continued to persevere.

Over the past few months, Carrasquel has been designing birthday decorations to suit her customers’ needs. She said that it takes her almost one week to prepare the themes for various celebrations.
Devi Party Collections, she boasted, provides ‘Essequibians’ with a variety of party supplies and custom-made designs. Carrasquel is also examining the possibility of expanding her family’s business to cater for the provision of fresh flowers. The young woman is also keen on creating captivating wedding decors.
So far, Carrasquel has been able to settle comfortably in her parents’ homeland, and is eager to make much of what this ‘Land of Many Waters’ has to offer. Whenever she is not working to keep business flowing at the store, the teenager dabbles in dancing as a fulfilling extracurricular activity. She is currently a member of the Kandhiya Dance Troupe.
A beaming Carrasquel is thankful that Guyana has offered her the opportunity to follow her dreams and further unlock her potential. Her mother, Bagwandeen, said that she is incredibly proud of her daughter and is looking forward to an early end to the pandemic to allow for better business.

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