Empowering women and transforming lives in the community of Crane
COMMUNITIES are like people, beautiful entities built from support. The village of Crane along the West Bank of Demerara is a quiet place characterised by a captivating agricultural presence and a multicultural population. Crane is one of the most welcoming communities the Pepperpot Magazine has ever visited. Among the green fields and smiling faces, however, lies a far deeper support system. Crane, like any community, faces its own challenges. The women of the community have taken a unique and impactful approach. With high pregnancy rates among a younger demographic, the women of Crane sought to make a change.
Pepperpot Magazine came across Jaswanttie Persaud, more popularly known as Sumintra, selling at Crane Primary School in her usual workplace. Having been a vendor at the school for quite some time, Sumintra has lived in Crane for well over 30 years, and the community is the only home she has known. Over the years, she has worked in various aspects of community development, contributing to everything from education to women’s empowerment. Sumintra is a mover within the community.
One reason she has dedicated herself to Crane is because she has seen it grow and has grown with it. Beginning as a little plot of land housing farmers and a few villagers, Crane has blossomed into a vast expanse of entrepreneurship and change. Sumintra recalls, “When I moved here, we did not have this many homes. It was mostly rice fields. Now, we have many more people and houses, and the community has become more popular. Crane is a very big place with a lot of people right now.”
The village has truly grown, and its population seems to be on a constant and steady rise. People have started setting up homes on the outskirts of the village. Although the newcomers are welcomed, a growing village also brings growing challenges. The Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO) is one of Guyana’s oldest female empowerment forums. The WPO has spread across Guyana and now reaches more corners of the country than ever, including Crane. “I remember joining the WPO group in January 2003. Sometimes we have meetings, and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes, we invite people to come, and they don’t. But we are functioning,” says Sumintra. She acknowledges that the village committee is not always a hundred percent on board, but she is determined to continue the WPO’s work, especially as the president.
“I was a normal person in the group, but in the last election, they picked me for president,” she explained. Spending more than three decades in the village, Sumintra has spent much of that time interacting with villagers, getting to know them, and understanding their challenges. One particularly evident challenge is that of young mothers. Although being a young mother is not an issue in itself, struggling to support them is. Sumintra and her fellow WPO members do remarkable groundwork in educating, supporting, and empowering these women, making a significant impact in small ways. She further added that, “We have meetings once a month, but for a good while, people have not been coming out,” Sumintra stated, underscoring challenges within the committee. She implores women of the community to join this or any similar group for the support it offers.
The WPO is incredibly supportive and goes above and beyond, focusing on issues facing women and families. Among the work done by Sumintra and her peers in empowerment is providing assistance during hard times. “We are trying to help the women of the community. We walk around and talk to the young mothers, the poor women. It is not a rich community, but we try to inform them and give them advice.” Advice ranges from simple words of encouragement to aid and resources. Their mission goes beyond women, as well; the committee is known to help in countless areas. Sumintra, along with the people of Crane, has crafted a unique relationship with each other. She is one of many who have an urge and passion for helping others, stemming from her own experiences.
As a young woman, Sumintra struggled, as many women in her community do today. She understands the challenge of balancing life and motherhood, having worked countless jobs, selling in marketplaces and farmhouses with her husband to make ends meet. Today, she has a beautiful family with her three kids, who recently gifted her a car of her own. This is just one of the major wins in her life that makes her proud. Currently, Sumintra works at the school to have something to do and to spend time in her community among the children. To those struggling, Sumintra urges them to get up and get going, no matter how little they may think they are achieving. “To anyone in a difficult situation, you have to get up. You cannot just sit down or stay down. You could work for a few dollars and build from that. You could start from any work, from anywhere.”
