-find two families in desperate circumstances
In an effort to ensure that the impoverished are properly taken care of, President of the East Canje Lions Club, Devin Sookraj drove around the area on Saturday to seek them out.
He told this newspaper on Monday that he came across two families at Cumberland and at Canefield, both in East Canje that are living in dilapidated homes and are barely able to survive on their little earnings.
He said the club has provided clothing and cooked food to the families and is also looking at other ways to help them.
At Cumberland, he met 43-year-old, Lalita Bedessie who is barely surviving on the meagre earnings she gets from doing domestic chores three times per week.
She told Stabroek News in an interview that she has to take care of two of her three children; Sarah, 10 and Samuel, 12 as well as her 83-year-old mother, Narinie and her brother, Richard Bedessie, 47 who is slightly handicapped.
While her mother gets an income from her old age and NIS pensions, her brother who injured his right leg 12 years ago after a lamp fell on it has been unable to continue his work as a sign artist because “he get shaky.”
The woman also has a 15-year-old son, Ryan but he is currently in the care of her nephew at Eccles, East Bank Demerara.
Her other son, Samuel, she said had passed the Grade Six Assessment exams to go to Canje Secondary School but has not been attending because she cannot afford to send him.
Sarah is a Grade Five student at the Cumberland Primary which is within walking distance and according to the mother “ah does try with she.”
The child was not going to the extra lessons at the teacher’s house after school because Lalita did not have money to pay for it. But luckily after someone explained her situation to the teacher two weeks ago she started to go. Lalita said the child is doing well and she would not like her to be denied an opportunity to have an education as in Samuel’s case.
She has been separated from her husband for a few years now and he had been summonsed to pay child support but she has not received any money from him for about one year.
The other family Sookraj came across was Tarmilla Shivrattan, who lives in a rundown house with her husband and six children Pinky, Sarah, Dinesh, Alex, Omesh,
Maria, whose ages range from one to seven years old.
Tarmilla’s husband catches and sells crabs for a living but he does not earn much.
Sookraj said when he passed through the area and saw the children without clothes and he stopped and spoke to the mother who explained their situation.
He and the other members of the club visited both families and provided the items to them. He has also recognized that both families need a lot more than food and clothing and said he would try to seek help for them from other persons.
According to him the club would also hold fund raising ventures in an effort to build new one-flat houses for both families.
As president of the club his job is to serve needy people and he intends to “go around and focus on children” who are in dire circumstances.
He would welcome the help from the public to change the lives for both families as well as others in similar situations. Persons desirous of helping the needy families can contact Sookraj on 333-3380.
He said the club plans to have a medical outreach later this month where over 100 patients would be treated for diabetes and high blood pressure.
There would also be a clinic for dental extraction on the same day. Another project the club has planned, he said is the renovation of bus sheds in March. (Shabna Ullah)