BEING able to work and live in the same area is a real convenience. Ramdat Jailall benefitted from that from 1976 until he retired in 2000 as a cane harvester and an excavator operator attached to Rose Hall Sugar Estate, East Canje, Berbice.

The 62-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that these days he is mostly at home doing the yard work and looking after the trees, flowers and plants.

He has the time to do a bit of gardening in the backyard and he would basically ensure the yard is tidy.

The father of three added that all the children are grown and are leading their adult lives with their families elsewhere while it’s just him and his wife at home.

He reported that Betsy Ground is a generally quiet place that is very safe and there isn’t much to worry about.

Jailall resides on the public road and isn’t really bored since the internet is an avenue to watch movies and talk to family members on the phone.

However, he is looking forward to his 63rd birth anniversary in May this year and is very comfortable at his home and in the village he has been living in for a very long time as his place of birth.

Jailall reported that his wife would do the cooking and he would assist in some chores and they have an excellent relationship in the home as well as with the neighbours.

Shivanie Persaud
Further in the village is the home of Shivanie Persaud, whose father is the local electrician who repairs microwaves, music sets, among other things on a part-time basis.

The 24-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that she used to work as an office assistant and today, she is unemployed and is looking for work.

She is from a home of two siblings; both are gainfully employed and her father works at the nearby Rose Hall Sugar Estate as a pump attendant while her mother is a stay-at-home wife.

Persaud resides in Mandir Street, Betsy Ground Village and on one side there is no house; on the other side, there is an empty plot and the people in the same street are relatively easy-going and quiet.

There are also a few abandoned houses in the same street, and the people seem to be about their own business.

When the team visited, Persaud had already finished cooking and had indulged in a meal of curry and rice, hot off the stove while in the hammock under their house.

“In the countryside, it is normal for people to cook and do chores early in the morning so they have the day to themselves and I need a job to contribute to the home and be occupied because it has been a while since I went anywhere,” Persaud said.

Nandanie Ishmael
In Betsy Ground Village, East Canje, Berbice, resident Nandanie Ishmael is a housewife, who was in the process of preparing a meal when the team visited that day.

Ishmael told the Pepperpot Magazine life in Betsy Ground is fair, and they have the basic necessities to have a contented life there.

She reported that her husband works at the nearby Rose Hall Sugar Estate as a pump attendant and he is on a shift system and she is the mother of two.

Even though it was a rainy day, she had already completed household chores.

Ishmael disclosed everything is normal and quiet in that part of the country.

They have a pet dog, Clifford that is basically a house dog and a parrot.

“I am from this village and being able to grow and get married here is good with me because I like this place and I don’t want to relocate at all,” she said.