GANGARAM Singh is a resident of Burma Housing Scheme, West Coast Berbice and is a taxi driver/security guard at the Saj Rice Mill.

He is a long-serving employee of the Rice Mill, since it was state-owned and today, it is on its third private owner.

Singh told the Pepperpot Magazine that after working in the village for so many years, he decided to relocate 13 years ago because he used to reside in the Mahaica Creek and would ride his bicycle from there to the Rice Mill.

The 59-year-old stated that the village is a very quiet place, mostly breezy, but they need a good road since they never had a better one.

He added that most people are either farmers or work at the Rice Mill or at the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB); others work with large rice farmers, throwing paddy.

The father of five owns one of two small shops in the village and he is a resident of the last street. His small business is manned by his stay-at-home wife when he is at work.

“In this village, potable water supply and the road are the main issues we have and other than that we good. When you turn on the pipe there is no running water, for six weeks now we are not getting water. The pipelines are obsolete and old and need replacing and the well needs an upgrade. There is no proper water pressure and if you don’t have money to buy drinking water, it is not nice. We are suffering at the back here; we need clean water, it is rusty and of no good,” he said.

Singh stated that he is barely holding on to his job at the rice mill because due to the pandemic and the economic hardships, the company laid off 50 workers recently.

“A lot of people are on the breadline in here and it is hard,” he said.

He disclosed that if they have an all-weather road things will be better and they will not have to pay high transportation costs to traverse.

The cattle farmer
Rennick Harry is a cattle farmer who has 126 cows, 300 goats, some ducks, fowls and a few horses he would use to get in the pasture to tend his cows and goats.

He is a resident of Burma Housing Scheme and has been living in the community for the past 23 years.

The 50-year-old hails from Nurney, Corentyne, Berbice, but relocated in search of a better life and today he is self-employed and has his wife by his side. Together, they tend to the cows, goats, ducks, fowls and horses.

Harry told the Pepperpot Magazine that he would take the cows into the pasture during the day and would keep an eye on them until it is time for them to be penned.

The father of five explained that his wife would also assist him and he is grateful.

“Being a farmer with cattle is hard work and a lot of sacrifice and not a job for the fancy as you can see, I am bare-footed with a bicycle in the sun, so it takes a lot of time and effort to rear cows,” he said.

Harry disclosed that he is a skilled welder and dry operator and had worked at the rice mill for many years; because he had his cattle to take care of, he had to decide to either stay on the job or quit.

He quit the job and is self-employed today and is doing fine, because that is a full-time job he cannot get fired from.

Harry is trying to become fully self-sufficient, but the odds are against him because of challenges with flooding and potable water supply.

He was a rice farmer but stopped doing that due to the unavailability of lands in the village and he has a small kitchen garden for vegetables, most of which were destroyed by floodwaters.

Harry is a simple man who would go about his daily routine in a quiet, organised manner and would return home for meals and a good night’s rest to start another day in the countryside village of Burma Housing Scheme.