AFTER serving the community for more than 34 years in the noble profession of teaching, Seedai Etwaru has retired but still has an attitude of servitude as she takes care of her ill sisters.

She is a resident of Guava Bush, Berbice, a place she has lived all her life and is home for her regardless of where she goes.

Etwaru shares a home with her sisters and has another place where she would visit to unwind and have some quiet time.

Etwaru lived with her parents and 11 siblings in the same village, and, growing up, their lives were simple yet satisfying.

The 69-year-old attended Albion Primary School, after which she was placed at JC Chandisingh Secondary School.

After completing her secondary education with six subjects at senior Cambridge and six subjects at the then-GCE assessment, she became a teacher, and her career accelerated very quickly.

“I had the zest for learning and I applied myself to the job. I like children and teaching, so it wasn’t difficult to enjoy what I do for work,” she said.

She taught at Cropper Primary School and was elevated to the Assistant Headteacher and later went to Rose Hall Primary as Senior Mistress.

Etwaru also taught at Tain Primary School as Deputy Headteacher after which she returned to Cropper Primary School as the Headteacher.

After 34 years in the teaching profession, a job she loved, moulding the minds of the young, she retired because of some challenges with her family.

There was a need for her to be at home to assist in caring for sick siblings.

“Teaching never leaves you even after retirement. You dream about what you can do for the children. It stays with you until it is your time,” she said.

Even though she doesn’t have children of her own, she always loved children and gave many years of her life teaching.

Etwaru went to England and, while there, she enrolled for a course in Rural Education in 1971 and she was successful. With added knowledge, she, however, returned to Guyana to continue her teaching career.

The elder retired in 1996 due to her father’s ill health. She was forced to quit because he was losing his eyesight rapidly.

She had to assist in his care and she made a choice to be there for him.

Etwaru spends her days between two houses, taking care of things and elderly sisters, who are unwell.

Her siblings are 85 and 83 years old, respectively and are not in good health. As such, she is tasked with their care.

“I would pay to get meals prepared, clothes washed, and chores are taken care of because at my age, I too have pains and aches,” she said.

Etwaru was gifted the house of a sister who resides overseas, and at times, she would visit that property to clean up and spend a few hours relaxing before returning home to her sisters, a street away, right in Guava Bush.

That house, built in the colonial days, still is in good condition. The exact date the house was completed is January 16, 1960, which is inscribed in the concrete on the lower flat of the two-storey house.

Etwaru had eight sisters and three brothers. Three of the siblings have since passed away and her youngest brother is 71 years old and a resident of the same village; his wife, who was 86 years old, passed away a few days ago.

She was the oldest resident of Guava Bush.

“We check on each other from time to time. Because of age, we must, and it is no bother checking in with loved ones,” she said.

Etwaru recalled that, growing up, she was told that Guava Bush was a sugar plantation called Albion Sugar Plantation. Her parents and older siblings all worked with the estate.

The retired teacher is a quiet kind of person who values individuality and doesn’t go out much but takes a little time to do the things she likes such as gardening.