GEEWANTIE Persaud, better known as Devika, is a household name in Naamryck Village and its environs because she is a midwife who delivered many babies and is serving her community.

This qualified midwife is very passionate about her work and she is willing to assist people in any way possible and with the resources she has.

Persaud is a roving registered midwife who travels throughout the region, visiting health centres working with high-risk patients and mothers.

Presently she is on annual leave, which was planned for the marriage celebration of her daughter who tied the knot last Sunday. It was a big event.

“I am still tired from all the work that was invested in the ceremony but after its success I am catching up on some much-needed sleep, so I can return to work well rested,” she said.

Persaud would make her rounds at Vergeongen Health Centre, Parika Health Centre and the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

Persaud started her medical career in 2012 and so far she has been enjoying her work, so much so that she was awarded the best midwife in 2019 and 2021 for her outstanding work.

The mother of three told the Pepperpot Magazine that her eldest is a daughter who is 25 years old and married recently; and she has a 23-year-old son, who is a farmer alongside her husband. Her youngest is a student at Westminster Secondary School.

Persaud related that she does not promote home births but only if it is an emergency,she would assist in the delivery but prefers that the expectant mother visit the regional hospital, especially with first-time births or in high-risk cases.

She said it is advisable such mothers visit a hospital that has a theatre and has the facilities for safe delivery if the need arises that they have to undergo caesarean births.

The midwife added that home deliveries are risky and a series of things can go wrong very quickly, putting both the mother and baby at risk.

“In my training sessions at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) I had to perform 25 deliveries under observation and it was successful before I became qualified in that field,” she said.

Persaud said that was their practical. They had the exam for theory. It was all very fulfilling being able to assist people in having safe and successful deliveries at the hospital.

She reported that midwifery is challenging, but the work has been good despite the onset of COVID-19. As a frontline worker, she is at risk, but she would take the necessary precautions and wear the gears she should to remain safe and keep others safe, as well.

Persaud is well-known in the area and she is noted for her humanitarian efforts in assisting locals with dressings, testing their blood sugar levels and blood pressure, administering injections to diabetics, senior citizens and bedridden folk and doing simple sutures etc.

She is, however, excited to return to work on December 12, 2021 and is enjoying the quiet, countryside life of being the wife of a farmer.

Persaud disclosed that her son and husband work on their farm located in Naamryck and Parika backlands. They would go via boat and cultivate crops of pineapples, ground provisions, plantains, and bananas.

She stated that the pair would leave home early to have a good start and they would return when their work on the farms are completed.

The midwife related that their produce is sold to wholesale buyers at Salem Koker, a point utilised by farmers.

Persaud is originally from Lima, Essequibo Coast and was living in Naamryck at her in-laws’ residence after marriage and they relocated to their own house in the same village.

She has been residing in little Naamryck Village for the past 26 years and describes the place as lovely for a family-oriented.

“This is a safe place, you don’t have to lock up anything and the neighbours would look over for you when you are not around, so we don’t worry about bandits here,” she said.

She added that it is a small village and the locals are very familiar, with everyone living there so they would recognise strangers very quickly.