A place that is adequate in food security and self-sufficiency

ANGELA Burnetta, better known as ‘Aunty Angie,’ is well-known in Perth Village, Branch Road, Mahaicony, because she is one of the locals who is involved in the Perth/Union Burial Society and she is also a shopkeeper.

She told the Pepperpot Magazine that the Perth/Union Burial Society was instituted in 1930 and is still in operation to date, functioning with more than 300 members with a benefit levy of $65,000 per burial.

Burnetta added that they would usually have award ceremonies for learners who excel academically and maternity benefits per member.

She reported that the primary role of the Perth/Union Burial Society is to ensure that monies are collected and benefits are disbursed.

Burnetta noted that they have members within the village and some who live outside the community and per member, a registration fee of $100 is required.

She pointed out that the society was created because of poverty, to assist people in the burial of their dead with a one-time pay-out of a lump sum to offset expenses.

Burnetta disclosed that they had a lot more members but a lot of people dropped out, and they have some members from as far as Essequibo.

She stated that the people of Perth Village are very resilient and when the pandemic hit Guyana, they found ways of earning from their homes by doing barbeques, takeaway lunches, and other things.

The 65-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that the village is flood-prone and when the rainy season sets in, the water comes and goes, but the mud is there to stay.

Sonia Grundall, the teacher
The team also met Sonia Grundall, a teacher attached to Mahaicony Secondary School for the past 17 years and is a mother of three, who is a resident of Middle Street, Perth Village.

She is a local of Perth Village and said it is a very quiet and good place to reside, because the people are very close-knit and have togetherness.

Grundall pointed out that things are usually quiet except when a function in the village happens almost every weekend.

She stated that the only newcomers in the village are those who have married into the community, because most of the people there have lived all their lives there and their way of life is very simple.

Grundall reported that the locals of Perth Village are Afro Guyanese, but they have a few East Indians and they co-exist in peace.

“Like in the countryside, you don’t have a spend like you would in the city or elsewhere because this is a place you can go over by your neighbour and get two dry coconuts and some greens to start a pot,” she said.

Grundall related that almost everybody in the village plant and they grow their own chickens, so the feed is plentiful and whatever is in season is shared among locals or sold at a low cost.

“Around here, the people are really good and they would give you whatever they have, but since they are farmers, some would sell their produce right in the village to earn, and that is very understandable,” she said.

Grundall disclosed that in Perth Village when people get barrels from overseas, they would pack a bag and share whatever they get and around the holidays cake and other goodies are exchanged, as well.

As a teacher, she told the Pepperpot Magazine that after schools re-opened after the two years it was closed because of the pandemic, there have been some challenges as it relates to teaching.

Grundall explained that there are a lot of slow learners and it has been trying to prepare them for exams, because when they were at home, they weren’t home-schooled or didn’t participate in the online sessions.

She reported that they have been trying their utmost to host extra lessons and promote various forms of learning to stimulate the slow learners.

Grundall told the Pepperpot Magazine that they haven’t yielded good grades and for example her son, who was hit by the pandemic since third grade, wrote nine subjects and only passed four.

She added that with the resources at their disposal they have been incorporating newer ways to promote learning in the classroom.