Looking at life in the village

PROSPECT Village, Mahaicony, is a small community that is home to less than 50 people. The community is more farmland than houses, which creates a unique tranquillity. When 25-year-old Dolly Sooknanan moved to the community just a short time ago, she never thought she would become so accustomed to the silence. However, like everything else, there are challenges.

An area many may consider remote compared to its livelier counterparts, life in Prospect requires a bit of adjustment. Prospect is a small community with very few people and even fewer sights to see, but it does present a unique set of challenges. Villagers say these challenges are worth it for the peace of mind that Prospect offers.

Dolly is a wife and mother of three happy and energetic children — two girls and the family’s most recent addition, a two-month-old son. Born and raised in Helena Mahaica, Dolly did not think the move to Prospect would bring such a major change. As she stated, “We moved here almost a year ago. We had always lived in Mahaica, but my husband recently built here, so we moved. Growing up in Helena was good. Here in Prospect is different, but it is good, too.”

Growing up in the hustle and bustle of Helena village, Dolly was not very interested in agriculture. This changed when she moved to Prospect. As she recounted, one of her first memories of Prospect was seeing the rice harvest up close for the first time. “We live next to a rice field. Honestly, don’t even ask me about rice. When we came here last August, the rice was already big, and it was the first time in my life I saw how they cut the rice. Living on the main road, we never used to go down to the back to see the rice. I don’t know much about rice. I had never seen rice before. Now, living in Prospect, I find it very peaceful.”

But peace does come at a cost. As Dolly explained, Prospect’s greatest aspect is also its main challenge. Life in Prospect can be somewhat challenging when tucked away, far from townships and shops. As Dolly stated, “When we moved here, my husband had to fix the road. After the rain, he had to get a loader and repair the dam. The shop here is a challenge, too. It’s not easy to afford a taxi. The taxi charges $1000 just to come, pick you up, drop you off, and then you need another $1,000 to come back. That’s $4000 for a taxi in a day. We had to move our daughter from Helena to Carlton Hall because this side is closer.”

Peace and quiet are welcomed, Dolly says, and her biggest balancing act currently goes far beyond Prospect’s streets. “It was hard when we first moved here because I’m used to Mahaica. We used to travel every Saturday to go to the market, get stuff, and come back. It was challenging, especially with a little baby. Now, the hardest part is balancing everything: waking up early to hurry with the older ones to take them to school, drop them off, come back, then you have to hurry through your house chores, cook, and then plan the timings to go back to collect them from school. The most challenging thing for me right now is balancing everything.”

Although still relatively new to being a mother, Dolly has made significant strides in her journey. She has learned a lot and has had to manage much more to care for her children when her husband works long hours. “Sometimes my husband isn’t around. He works right across the road, but he’s not there every single day. They’re working on contracts on the road right now. It’s very important to be independent because you have to handle everything when he’s not around. My father helps me out when he’s around, but when he’s not, you have to manage everything alone. You have to put the little one in the car and focus on the road and the kids. It’s challenging.”

Dolly further adds that she does things now that she never thought she would be doing. She explains the challenges of caring for her children when her husband is at work. As she stated, “My daughter used to go to Helena, but it was hard to carry her every morning, come back home, then go back at 2 o’clock. The family support from my husband is nice. He helps when he can, but it’s challenging when he’s not around.”

True to her nature and spirit, Dolly has taken tremendous steps in caring for her family. She shared that there were many things that she had to learn. Today, she is happy in her community of Prospect and would not trade the peace and quiet for anything else.