The Face of Poverty in Guyana
February 15, 2008
According the United Nations and the World Health Organization Guyana is listed as a third world country or to be politically correct, a developing nation. And rightly so, however, no one in my opinion seems to care. Family and friends living in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and the Caribbean do not know of the struggles and poverty we are all living in. Foreign currencies have a high exchange rate in Guyana, but the money does not have a greater value because of the high cost of living we have been experiencing for years.
A regular employee, whether a teacher, clerk, accountant or a simple cane-cutter work for $5 U.S.D a day which is $1000 Guyana dollars for 8 hours of hard work to support a family of 4-6. Reason being that there are limited job opportunities. Usually the husband is the Breadwinner of the home. From our $5 USD for a days’ work, $3 USD is spent on traveling expenses, $1.50 spent for lunch, which leaves 0.50 for the day. How can Guyanese able to survive? How can we save, build a home, have a car, pay our rent or taking care of our families? The thought of owning a home or a car would take forever and beyond because we can never be able to work and save the necessary money in our lifetime. Those who afford to run will run as far as possible, and those who cannot will have to stay and suffer. A lot of children and teenagers are very brilliant but they never get to excel at their examinations or further their studies to pursue a university degree because their parents cannot afford it.
This is our life and our story. Added to this Blog are some pictures I took recently to share as much as I can with all of you, and hopefully it will serve as a reminder that there is so much poverty in Guyana and we need all of your help and support. There is so much more all of you can do who have had the opportunity to leave and build a better future.
The picture you are looking at are of children who were found wandering along the road, walking bare feet, no food, no home, no family and hardly any clothing on their body. He depends on fishing, hunting and few vegetables to survive and uses herbal bushes cure illnesses. There is no access to medicines, no access to doctors, no access to medical help whatsoever.
The Amerindian man identified in the pictures rescued the children you are looking at. Most of them were wandering along the road, walking bare feet, no food, no home, no family and hardly any clothing on their bodies. They live in a tiny hut and depend on fishing, hunting and few vegetables that he grows in his little garden to survive. They also use bushes to make herbal tea and medicine.
It was saddening to see a little child whose hands were covered in mud as he separated the wild bushes to get to the wet mud below. He placed his hand into a hole and was waiting to feel for a crab. Unfortunately he didn’t catch the crab in time so they all had to go to bed hungry that evening.
The lives of these innocent children are in jeopardy and the future looks very dim for them. These children don’t know who they parent are or for some of them who they are. They don’t know where the next meal will come from, or next piece of clean clothing to wear or the chance for an education. Their major fears are how will they ever be able to survive in these living conditions and would they be alive to see another day. All they have is each other but how long will that be. The future for them is unstable.
Anyone who reads this blog and would like to help. Please contact me through the form on this blog.
Click here to view the photo gallery.
Thanks ,
Apple
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