HENRY Da Silva is a resident of Cassava Joe Valley and has a small cement block-making business on the main public road at Hyde Park, Timehri, East Bank Demerara, where he employs one worker.
The like-minded Da Silva told the Pepperpot Magazine that he used to work with people, but it was proving to be a difficult task, so he decided to cut his losses and opened his own small business, becoming self-employed, three years ago.
He stated that even though business is often slow, he doesn’t have to answer to anyone but himself and is faring quite well.
Da Silva has been residing in Hyde Park Valley for the past 25 years and relocated from Mabaruma with his family when he was just a boy.
He explained that 25 years ago, his parents left their hometown in search of a better life and settled in the valley of Hyde Park, Timehri, the place where he grew up and became his home.
Sadly, his father has since passed away, his mother is living in Barbados, and his four brothers are all in Guyana.
“Life is considered fair in this part of the country because I am doing an honest job to earn; and even though it is not a high-income earner, I am still holding it together, hoping that my small business will grow,” he said.
Da Silva told the Pepperpot Magazine that despite the village being a depressed one with little or no development, he, like most residents, is doing his part to keep the environment clean.
“Down here if you don’t go in the valley, you will not know what is happening below because from the main road you will not know that so many people reside there. It is like an entire village down here,” he said.
Delon Yorrick, the woodworker
Meanwhile, the team also met Delon Yorrick, a father of three and a miner, who left the hinterland to be closer to home and his children as a single parent.
He is currently employed as a woodworker/joiner at Timehri Docks and he has a neat, well-put-together cottage and a clean yard with his ducks and chickens.
The 37-year-old related that he used to be based in the interior, working as a miner in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), but had to return home when his spouse exited the home. He had to take care of his children.
Yorrick stated that he is fortunate to be living among relatives, so when he has to go to work, he leaves his children in their care until he returns home.
Despite the challenges he is facing, the Hyde Park resident is optimistic that his life will get better and he is hoping to establish his own small business, so he can work from home and be near his children.
Yorrick explained that in his section of Hyde Park, Timehri, East Bank Demerara, it is a fairly safe neighbourhood since most people are related by blood and there are hardly any strangers.
He added that the place is quiet and the people live in harmony, doing what they need to ensure their side of the village is well kept.
Yorrick is planning to invest in poultry rearing soon and is working towards becoming self-employed, since he has the yard space to erect a chicken pen for some meat birds.
“With achieving certain things in the back of my mind, I must stay focused to ensure my plans fall into place, because I have children to take care of and I want to be able to have my own business and be at home for them,” he explained.
Yorrick is hoping that they can benefit from an all-weather road, since they endure a lot of hardship when they have to fetch materials and other bulky things from the main public road into the valley to their homes.
This local is utilising his free time wisely to do many things in and around the home, including preparing meals and doing the household chores before going to work daily.
