Housewives in the Wales community, West Bank Demerara are at their wit’s end on how to make ends meet with the little money that they have been surviving on since the estate closed its sugar operations in December.
A few of the women gathered to share their stories when the word went around that this newspaper was in the area earlier this month.
They said their husbands were the wage earners but they had to manage the money and make it last until the next payday.
But now, some have no payday to look forward to and it is causing added stress and problems in their homes. They said they were “surviving with the help of God.”
The women said they spend many sleepless nights and that while their husbands are worrying how to earn an income, they worry about what to put in the pots the next day.
Savitri Barran had started to operate a small business a few years ago, selling sweet and salted snacks mostly to children attending the primary school opposite her home.
She did it to supplement her husband’s income so they could provide a comfortable life for their family.
Little did she know that it would be the only income they would be depending on. Her husband, a cane-cutter tried to seek other jobs when the estate closed its operations last December but was unsuccessful.
Cut back
She told SN, “It really hard now. We have to cut back on spending just to make ends meet. But every day when the children come home, the school need money for something.
Where I would find it from?”
She added: “We used to eat one roti [each] but now we have to share one in four. And on weekends I used to cook fried rice or some nice meal, but now I can’t do that…”
Barran also told this newspaper “thieves are rampant now” and that earlier this year they broke into her home and stole her television, cell phone, her children’s games, among other items.
According to her: “We used to watch the TV to reduce stress but now that is gone. We need the government to see what is going on and provide some help.”
Rajwantie Deonarine, told SN that the estate’s closure has affected her family a lot and that they were facing a very rough life.
“My husband is not finding a job and we can’t buy the amount of ration we used to buy. My children are going to school every day and I have to find money for assignment.”
She added: “Right now I am frustrated. One daughter going to secondary school and I have to find $1,000 for test papers. And I have to give her $2,000 a week for passage.”
She said too that next year her daughter would be sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate [CSEC] exams and she was worried about “where I would find the money from. We need help… The President [David Granger] should come in here and see what he can do for the people.”
The woman said right now she needs a job so she could help out [financially] in the home. She used to work at the fisheries a few years back but said now she is 50 and it would be difficult to find employment.
It was past midday and another housewife, Angela Hodge left her home with her shopping bag and a little money to see what she could get to purchase at the market.
Her husband worked at the estate as a labourer and as a cane-farmer but right now he is employed there as a security guard.
He also planted a small amount of cane that he sold to the estate but Hodge said after the closure, the cane spoiled.
With the little money he currently earns, she has to beat her brains out to make it stretch for all of her expenses.
Four of her children are at school, including one who just completed her CSEC exams and it is “very difficult to find lunch and passage to send them.” She is currently paying an additional $3,000 per week for lessons and assignments for another child.
Her husband’s income is not even quarter of what he earned before and the financial struggle is causing problems in her home.
“It is very frustrating; sometimes I would just start quarreling because the money is not enough to run the home. I used to cook three meals a day but now I am stretching it [grocery] and cooking two times – in the mornings for the children to go to school and in the afternoon when they come home.” Hodge said.
“Every time you go to the shop, the grocery raise. Many items I used to buy before I can’t buy now. I used to make snacks for my children but I had to stop because I can’t afford it…”
Another housewife who did not wish to state her name said “since me born and grow, everyone depended on the estate.”
She was not directly affected because her relatives who worked there have retired. But she said the situation was bad for everyone, not just the workers.
She has observed that the activities in the area have “slowed down a lot. Everyone is crying out because money is not circulating. I am so sad to see that this is happening.”
Another woman, Latchmin related that her son was employed at the estate and that he is trying desperately to find another job but has had no luck so far.
Backdam
He then decided to “go to the backdam and catch fish to sell and to cook.” The woman said she would “make breakfast in the mornings and whatever me cook for lunch would have to last for dinner.”
She hardly has money for food items and would “just buy a little how I get the money. When my son used to work at the estate we used to cook and eat lavish. But now we have a lot of stress and tension in the home.”
She added: “Instead of buying one chicken on weekends, we have to just buy one pound or half pound. Sometimes we can’t sleep at nights; we worry what we would get to eat.” Latchmin too would like those in authority to visit the area and find a solution for them.
“We need the government and also Food for the Poor to come in and help us. People are desperate. We are afraid that the situation would get worse and we don’t know what would happen to us,” she lamented.
Sharon Ramnarine of Belle West, Canal No 2 Polder said since the estate closed her husband has been unable to find a job.
They are currently trying their hands at making chips to sell but were still “finding it hard” to run the home and care for their six children.
Three of her children are attending school and her mother was “helping out with one of them.”
Although the business was not that profitable, they were still trying to be independent.
Her eldest daughter would spend $500 to come out from Belle West to sell the chips but would only make $800.
“I don’t know how long we would live like this,” she said, while hoping that one day the situation changes and their lives would improve.
