WITH a pot of chicken curry and rice bubbling away on the outdoor fireside, Leela Ibaran could engage in some much-needed chat with her visiting family members at her home in Guava Bush Village, Berbice.

The 56-year-old stated that she is a housewife whose children are all married off and had left home. Nowadays, it is just her and her husband, a cattle farmer.

The mother of three added that the countryside life was simple. She would do the chores, take care of the home and the cooking and still have some time for banter, which is a favourite pastime.

That day, when the team visited, they were waiting for the meal to be completed before going to do some deep cleaning at a house nearby, a relative’s place, and she had two of her daughters-in-law visiting to assist her in that task.

She has resided in Guava Bush Village for the past 37 years. It happened after marriage, and she is originally from Edinburgh.

“When I first came to this village, I saw bare mango trees, a lot of it so, I am not sure how it got the name Guava Bush,” she joked.

The grandmother of six reported that life in that village was usually quiet except when someone is playing loud music which happens every now and again.

Ibaran stated that Guava Bush was a nice little village with good people. They live in harmony with no real issues to cause division.

Nagmah Kallimootoo, the shop keeper
Meanwhile, in the same village, a few houses away is the home of Nagmah Kallimootoo, a mother of three who sells snacks at her small shop.

She is better known as Lynn and is well-known because she would make delicious snacks to sell on weekdays from her home.

The 59-year-old is a single mother whose children are grown and she is determined to make a living rather than depending on others.

She told the Pepperpot Magazine that she was living with her common-law husband, a bus driver, and one day, 16 years ago, he left home and did not return.

She was left with three children to bring up, and she did her best to equip them with an education and, today, they all have jobs.

“At times, you feel like giving up because it was not always going as planned, but I always try to get up and do something for myself, to earn,” she said.

She came to Guava Bush Village 28 years ago, when she met her ex-husband, and they lived in his parents’ home, which still has a shop attached to it, on the lower flat of the two-storey building.

Kallimootoo is from Nigg Village, a neighbouring community and is used to the quietness of Guava Bush.

“This village is nice, we have no troubles here except for the road and most of the people here work at the sugar estate and everybody does what they must to earn,” she said.

Kallimootoo used to work at the canteen at the Albion/Port Mourant Sugar Estate but had to quit to start her own small business.

She would make and sell egg balls, cassava balls, fish cakes, bara, burgers and hot dog and is vending cold beverages too.

Mohani Persaud, the homemaker
In this same village is the home of Mohani Persaud, a housewife and mother of six, who takes care of the school-aged children.

She doesn’t go out much except when necessary and has been living in Guava Bush for the past five years.

Persaud’s husband is a fisherman and, often, he would be away from home for weeks at a time and the son, who used to work and assist her in the home, had an accident. He is now unable to work.

To add to this unfortunate turn of events, the ducks and chickens she was rearing all perished when the yard was flooded recently.

The kitchen garden was not spared, and she suffered a huge loss due to the floods in the village.

When the team visited, she and her daughter, who was visiting, were cleaning katahar for a neighbour.

“The neighbour is good to me, she asked me to help and I could not refuse and that is how people live around here,” she said.

Persaud resides in a house which needs repairing. It shakes, it belongs to her husband’s family and she is unable to effect repairs due to financial constraints.

The 42-year-old is from Number 75 Village, Skeldon, Berbice and relocated to Guava Bush for a better life and is hoping she can overcome her existing challenges.