With many Guyanese not being able to work due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Suresh Sugrim, President of the Humanitarian Mission Guyana Inc., (HMGI) said it is the perfect time for them to engage in planting kitchen gardens.
He told Stabroek News (SN) that gardening would not just enable them to provide sustenance for their families during the lockdown, but it is therapeutic and would help to relief some of the stress of not having an income, currently.
He urged them to make use of the wasted space in their yards to plant vegetables like bora, boulanger and callaloo so as to keep active and be productive at the same time.
The satisfaction of reaping the produce of their labour should encourage them to keep on planting, because “after the pandemic they still have to live.”
Noting that poverty “is a state of mind,” he said engaging in kitchen garden would also give people a sense of worth that they don’t always have to depend on others to provide for them. He strongly encouraged it as a means of “breaking the cycle of poverty.”
He asserted too that “Guyanese are too laid back. What’s keeping them back from planting? They have no excuse. They can save the money they spend on vegetables and (use it to) buy other food items.”
He added, “My philosophy is that they can start small… They don’t need any capital to live off the soil. They can get some seeds from their neighbours” and use cow manure to start their gardens.
Garden tools
Referring directly to some underprivileged Guyanese, Sugrim, a pandit, pointed out that he is “willing to go to the store and purchase garden tools (and other items) to give them the start, providing they are willing to help themselves.”
He believes in the Chinese adage: “You give a poor man a fish and you feed him for a day. You teach him to fish and you give him an occupation that will feed him for a lifetime.”
His focus would be to help the differently-able as well as those willing to engage in starting up kitchen gardens or small businesses.
“My idea is for these persons to be willing to break the cycle of poverty. You cannot feed people all their lives,” he stated. “Guyana would remain in darkness in many years to come if they don’t change their mindset.”
He noted too that donors in America have their own expenses but still make sacrifices to send help to Guyana.
Sugrim who has a thriving vegetable garden as well as a flower garden at his Florida home, lamented that lots of other people in his state believe in growing their own food. Others from different states, he said, can hardly wait for the summertime to plant their vegetables even if they have to do so in pots.
Committed to “helping people who help themselves,” he provided assistance to Nafeeza Khan, a single mother in Berbice who was recently featured in this newspaper, to expand her food business.
He also plans to assist Khan’s 10-year-old son who has a speech and hearing impairment, with a hearing aid.
The philanthropist who started a charitable organization in 2005 through the New Jersey Arya Samaj Mandir, told SN that while going to the homes of some families in Guyana to provide help, he witnessed firsthand, their “laid back attitude.”
He recognized that many of them prefer to wait on the help rather than making the effort to be self-sufficient as well.
It was mainly for that reason he decided to “walk away from handouts.”
He then went on a mission in 2008 by creating avenues for the less fortunate to help themselves through the establishment of skills training centres in Berbice.
He had collaborated with the Food For the Poor organisation and received a number of stoves and sewing machines for the empowerment of women and early school leavers.
He had also presented a stove to the Guyanese Women in Development (GUYWID) group in New Amsterdam and a quantity of tools and other items to the youths at Kuru Kuru, Linden to enhance their trade.
Part of his 2008 project also included the donation of bicycles to four students so as to alleviate the burden they faced in getting to school.
Power of education
During that time too he had told this newspaper: “We want to break the chains of poverty through the power of education. We learnt that some of the students were not attending school because they could not afford it and we tried to change that…”
Twelve years later he echoed the same sentiments that: “Education is the key to unlocking the cycle of poverty. Parents need to understand the importance of keeping their children in school.”
His organisation also uplifted the lives of some Berbicians who lived in dire conditions, with the construction of homes.
In 2014 the organisation began the establishment of the multi-purpose centre, aimed at empowering Berbicians. It was launched the following year.
They were given skills training in areas of cosmetology, cake and balloon decorating, cooking, sewing, information technology and electrical insulation.
Initially, the classes, which are conducted by certified tutors, were offered free of charge. This changed after it was found that participants were not taking the classes seriously.
The HMGI then decided to “charge a fee of $2,500 per month and then they started to value what they are paying for.” The fees are directed towards paying the teachers.
The courses run for a period of three to six months, after which the students are presented with certificates at a graduation ceremony.
Sugrim said the skills acquired have helped the students to establish small businesses or to seek employment.
He urged everyone to use the pandemic to remove negative habits and start focusing on the positive aspects that would help to uplift their standards of life.
