-Wayne Rodrigues tells his story

FOLLOWING a violent encounter with a drug dealer, Wayne Rodrigues knew that it was time for him to build a new life away from the drugs and crime he knew. As a then 17-year-old, he had experienced things children his age should not.

Now a family man and business owner, Rodrigues looks back at the life he left behind, checkered with drug abuse and violence. He is hopeful that his story connects with and motivates others.

“I used to use drugs, cocaine, marijuana etc. I started to smoke marijuana at 10-years-old and by about 14-years-old I went into cocaine, or what people would [call] black joint,” he recalled during a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle.

Born and raised on the streets of Albouystown, Rodrigues’s childhood was not one that was pleasant. He did not have the picture-perfect family life most children longed for. While children his age had their parents to tuck them in at night, he recalls his single-parent mother being absent as she worked to make ends meet for herself and family.

Due to the financial difficulties, Rodriques and his family constantly moved from one household to the next in community and this eventually saw him falling in with the wrong crowd.

“I went through a lot of experiences as you know its Albouystown, fight and doing whatever,” he said.

At the age of 17, Rodrigues recalled an extremely violent situation which caused him to turn his life around.

The change, he said came about after an altercation with a “pusher man” or drug dealer. Ashamed of himself and actions, he decided that it was time for him to turn a new leaf.

“The next day when I wake up, I went to La Penitence Market to see a friend. I got a passage to come to Linden and I come to Linden and I started to build my life,” said.

While starting over was his best decision, he noted that it was definitely not a smooth road as it came with many challenges.

In sharing his story with this publication and the world at large he hopes to encourage the young men and women of Guyana to challenge the unknown and to exceed beyond the expectations of stereotypical barriers.

“What I would like to share is that even though you are whatever it is at the time…don’t limit yourself to think this is all life is all about.”

After relocating, Rodrigues started to make an honest living by repairing shoes. He noted that temptations to return to his old life were the hardest to overcome, but he was determined to leave his past behind and look ahead to a brighter future.

“When I come to Linden, I was a shoe maker. I used to repair shoes and [I] develop my life and stayed away from the calling for drugs and of being unjust to people,” he noted.

Though no longer a shoe maker, Rodrigues is an amazing husband and father of four. He is a businessman and owner of one of the most popular resorts in the mining town, Wayne’s World.

“I’m not a shoe maker anymore. I got my business [and] I got a good family. It’s still a challenge in my life to be a better person. Every day is a challenge but the idea is to be there in full strength and take responsibility of your life,” he told this publication.

He reiterated that defying stereotypes and challenging the unknown is the first step to starting a new beginning.

“Try to challenge the unknown or challenge the thing you think you can’t do. For example, whilst growing up in Albousytown, I thought that was all…until I venture far away from Georgetown and come to Linden.”

He urged young men and women, who may feel less of themselves or limit their abilities to challenge themselves the way he did and take that leap of faith and start a new life.

“In life, the hardest thing to do is do the thing you think you can’t do when it could be done. There is so much benefit and glory on the other side once you make the effort,” he said.