Most of the members of the Harbour Light Baptist Church at Bushy Park, Parika, East Bank Essequibo come from impoverished backgrounds and the church leaders are on a mission to tackle it, not just at Christmastime.
Pastor Rovindra Sewnarine told Stabroek News in an interview that they would have yearly Christmas socials for members at that location and from the other church at Hog Island in the Essequibo River.
He and his team would distribute presents to the children, the majority of whom attend church without their parents, and who live in dire circumstances.
They do not leave out the other children from the community though, and would “drive around looking for the poorer class of children” to distribute the extra presents to them.
The areas they visit, include the Parika Facade, Ruby, Tuschen and Zeelugt, to spread Christmas cheers.
He pointed out that, “We would accumulate funds throughout the year and we would put away a little bit so that we can give back at Christmastime.”
He observed that many of the families in those areas are living under stressful conditions and he would encourage them to “seek God” so they can have peace of mind.
“We are there to encourage and guide them and let them know that we need to put our trust in the creator,” he stressed.
When the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) had just started and there was a lockdown, the pastor and a team “were zable to reach out to families with cooked food, groceries” and other necessities.
“Our gates and doors are opening back and people are coming out…,” he said. “Every time the children attend Sunday school and junior church, they would receive a snack, like biscuits and pholourie or channa with a drink. The church families would take turns in providing whatever they can afford.
He was “heartbroken when one of the boys told me that it was the only snack he had eaten since the previous day. Some even said it was the only thing they would get to eat for the rest of the weekend.”
Sewnarine said, “If people give us money we would cook a meal for the church families. Most of them are unemployed and there are some single mothers who are separated from their alcoholic partners.”
He also spoke of instances where the “mother and father drinking and children are left on their own…”
Those are just some of the social ills affecting the families that attend the church. His desire is that from next year, the church will provide a meal once a week so people who would not go hungry.
Personally, he does not have the means to undertake the effort. “I am not a rich man. I usually work on a contract to transport forms one to three students to school.
But presently that category of students are not eligible to attend school, so I am out of a job right now. But I am praying that God would open doors for me,” he told this newspaper.
“Because our community is very poor, there are many elderly people who would be glad for a meal, once or twice a week. If they can’t come we will reach out to them. We will cook it and take it to them.”
Sewnarine wishes he could do more to assist and said if anyone is willing “to support this act of kindness… please let us know.”
Abandoned in a house
For the past five years, he and his wife have been caring for a boy, now 13, who was left abandoned in a house for about two months.
The then eight year old, who also attended the church sometimes, never told anyone that he had been left alone to fend for himself.
During the day, he would be “out and about,” visiting his friends’ house where he would get food and at nights he would sleep alone in a little shack his parents owned.
A member of the church found out about the boy’s plight and told Sewnarine. His first instinct was to hurry to the home and rescue the boy. He has kept him as a part of his family ever since.
The boy was abandoned after his parents got separated and his father left to work in the interior. His mother is allegedly an “alcoholic and she parties a lot.” She had run away and left the boy and never looked back.
Sewnarine also made reference to a single mother who has a lot of children but would “be all over drinking.” Whenever she gets jobs in the backdam she would “go away and leave the children.”
The children would also do odd jobs and when they accumulate a little money, the “mother would take it away.”
Meanwhile, this newspaper caught up with a 24-year-old mother with her six children after she had walked away from her abusive husband.
The couple reside at the Parika Facade and the man, an alcoholic, would constantly abuse her physically and mentally.
Recently, he threatened to kill her and because of the rage he was in, the woman feared for her life.
She ran to the Parika Police Station and made a report. The police accompanied her home and arrested the man. He was placed on remand for two weeks.
She had packed her belongings and that of her children, whose ages range from five months to 10-years-old, in a few bag ‘rice’ bags. They moved into a tiny house with her sister and her family. She was determined not to reconcile with him.
She had even started working, while her sister and niece helped with children.
However, when the case was called at the court, for the second time, she decided to give the man a chance.
He was warned him that if he continues his abusive behaviour, he could face up to 10 years jail or life imprisonment.
