LIFE for Zaimoon Lindee and her husband, Bradley Lindee, is far from perfect but they have peace of mind and they are contented living in the tiny rural village of Germina, East Bank Berbice, away from a thick population.

The 54-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that last year was good for them because they completed building their house and will add finishing touches here and there this year.

Zaimoon added that she is pleased to be working as a part-time employee at Mara Police Station, so she can bring in an income to the home.

She explained that previously, she was unemployed and it was hard on her husband alone as the sole breadwinner.

Zaimoon stated that they have a small farm of cassava, plantains and bananas and when they have a harvest, they would sell at the New Amsterdam Market on Fridays to wholesale buyers.

The mother of four pointed out that all her children are grown and live elsewhere leading adult lives with wives and husbands.

Zaimoon added that she is a native of Germina Village, East Bank Berbice, and she only left the village when she got married and went to live for nine years at Sand Hills, Berbice River.

She, however, returned with her husband to Germina Village and was able to construct her house. Because of the hardships of the high cost of living and unemployment, they were forced to return to the countryside community.

Zaimoon told the Pepperpot Magazine that she has been living in the village for the past 20 years, and even though they don’t have high-paying jobs, they make ends meet financially.

“Life will get better now that we have a good road, so things can only improve for us here. We are very happy about this new development because we used to endure a lot of hardships before getting in and out of the mud dam, which was in a very bad condition,” she explained.

The Germina Village resident said they don’t have any electricity, but solar panels for lights and potable water; cellphone reception isn’t good and there is no internet, so communication is an issue.

“A lot of times we at the back here and we don’t know what is going on because we don’t see any news or have access to social media. Unlike other villages, being far away has its disadvantages,” she said.

Meanwhile, Bradley Lindee told the Pepperpot Magazine that he is a local of Sand Hills, Berbice River and due to many challenges, he had to leave to make a better life for himself and family.

He added that with the paving of the all-weather road, things have improved and before they had to leave their home a night ahead of their market day just to get out when it was a mud dam.

Bradley disclosed that because they experience a lot of rain in that village and the dam was in a really bad state and even the tractors had difficulty navigating it.

He related that life in Germina Village is good, but entails hard work and being self-employed, is quite challenging.

Bradley is an employee with the village NDC and he is a Community Infrastructure Improvement Project (CIIP) worker, who works four hours per day for a week and also does farming to supplement the household income.

“In this village, you can leave the doors opened and go to the farm all day and come back and everything is untouched, so it is very safe and the people here are very neighbourly, even though it is not thickly populated,” he said.

Bradley is the grandfather of three and for him he is enjoying a quiet countryside life as a farmer.