Part 99
Stabroek News spoke to members of the public in Pearl, East Bank Demerara about the rising cost of living and how it is affecting them. The following are their comments:
Interviews and photos by Subhana Shiwmangal
Odacia Stephenson
Odacia Stephenson, a 22-year-old teacher said: “The cost of living is high and it is affecting my colleagues, family and I a lot. My colleagues and I from work recently went and shop some items for the daycare and so. The bill is very high because every now and then we have to get stuff, especially haberdashery for the daycare. This is affecting my family and I also because at times, you have to get two or three jobs in order to get the things sorted out. When you have kids, the demands are very high whether you are sending them private or public schools. I’m a family of seven, including my husband and five children who are at school. So, you could imagine how the cost of living is affecting me and family. Both my husband and I work to provide for our kids, pay the bills and buy grocery items. We do budget to cope with the cost of living. Sometimes the budget is tight because when you add lesson fees and add all the activities that school includes, even though it’s a government school, the bill comes up high.
