When Carol Harris retired recently from her job as a community health worker in the Berbice River, her children had a surprise ‘welcome home’ celebration for the mother who spent more of her time in service to the local communities than at home.
She admits with a shy smile that they were right because even in the dead of night she would leave her warm bed whenever she got “a call” informing her that someone was in need of her help. And that call never came by phone, but always in the form of someone calling her from the riverside with the news that there was a resident in urgent need of assistance.
But even as she admits that she may have spent more time at work than at home, Harris said that she would do it all over again in the blink of an eye if asked. Initially the heath centre was located beneath her home because none was established until some years later.
“It was kind of hectic but rewarding; challenging at times and I have so many stories I can tell,” she said during an interview with the Sunday Stabroek.
She noted that the work was never about the money but rather a commitment to her job, and she was always on time at work even though no one would have known if she was late. Similarly, she made sure her reports to the regional office were submitted on time, even if she had to call them in on the pay phone.
She said her husband, Allan Harris, had always been very supportive of her throughout the years; they have been married for 30 years and have four children. There have been times when her husband and sons would come in search of her because, as she put it,
