GLENO and Murna Dhani are residents of Gangaram Settlement, East Canje, Berbice, and they live at the edge of the village, in the last street in a well kept plot and a nice home.

This couple told the Pepperpot Magazine that they enjoy a peaceful life and they are pleased about not having noisy neighbours that are overbearing.

The 67-year-old Gleno stated that he is a retired sugar worker after 44 years of service at Rose Hall Sugar Estate, East Canje, Berbice.

He was a cane harvester and these days, he is taking his life one day at a time, rearing some poultry and just keeping things organised in the yard.

His wife Murna takes care of the cooking and household chores and they are very comfortable.

They have three children, all grown and on their own with their own families. This couple is just enjoying old age and the joy of being by themselves.

Gleno reported that he has lived all his life in the village, while his wife came to settle there after marriage.

They had a kitchen garden, but they lost all their cash crops when the dam was compromised and they are yet to re-plant.

The Dhanis have an outdoor fireside and their place is very tidy and at their bridge, they have a huge tree under which they have seating accommodation for that afternoon ‘sit down and chat’ scene.

Drupattie Sarwan
In the same village, is the home of Drupattie Sarwan called Sadhana, a mother of three, who lives with her husband, a rice farmer and sugar worker.

The 56-year-old is a housewife who takes care of the home and assists in gardening in the backyard.

Sarwan and her husband have a simple but hardworking life in this section of the country, but they seem satisfied.

“I would get up early to cook because my husband leaves home at 04:00hrs for the ricefield and he would also go to his other job after,” she said.

She resides next door to her mother, an elder of the village and would keep an eye on her.

Randy Sinsamy
Meanwhile, in the same village, in the Pump Station Street is the home of Randy Sinsamy, his wife and daughter.

The 29-year-old is a sugar worker attached to the Albion Sugar Estate and he would make the daily commute from his village to the Corentyne.

He resides in the house that belongs to his parents, who migrated and he has two siblings.

He has no neighbours and he is quite pleased about that, since he enjoys a very quiet kind of peace.

“This is out-of-crop season, so I am at home, so I have to do other jobs to bring in an income to the home, and I would do mason and carpentry work when it is available,” he said.

He will return to work driving the estate’s tractor, transporting workers to the canefields.

Sinsamy works on a shift system at the sugar estate and describes life in Gangaram Settlement as being tranquil and good.

The Councillor and her family
Lilawattie Hardyal called Sabo is a councillor attached to the Goed Bananen Land Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and she is a resident of Gangaram Settlement.

She is the mother of four and lives in an extended family setting with two of her sons, their wives and some grandchildren.

Hardyal is constructing a shop in her yard that she will open shortly to sell groceries and other things as a small business.

Her husband, Dhanesh Hardyal, retired from the sugar estate seven years ago and he is a livestock farmer of some goats and poultry.

“As a pensioner, I get bored being at home, so I find things to do and I would take the goats to graze in the pasture area, further [sic] along, the road and I have things in the yard to do such as gardening,” he said.

Dhanesh Hardyal disclosed that being at home for those seven years feels a lot longer because he is accustomed to working.

He would have his goats secured in an empty plot opposite his house.

He said the village is a safe place to raise a family and it is a place where the people have means of earning honestly.

“Everybody around here doing something to earn, so you don’t find thieves lurking and the people are good,” he said.