New Hope

Unlike other rural villages where most people are engaged in farming, residents of the East Bank community of New Hope rarely farm and none of them has taken it up as a full-time occupation, people living in the area said.

New Hope is situated along the East Bank of Demerara. It is quite community oriented, although residents said that its tranquillity results in boredom.

Most people in the village are either taxi-drivers, plumbers or other skilled personnel, or small business owners. It is a village with no schools, hence children attend school in the neighbouring village of Craig for their primary education upwards. The health of the residents is also taken care of by the health centre at Craig because the village has no such facility.

This girl showed her foot balling skills
This girl showed her
foot balling skills

For most residents, shopping is done at Grove since there are not many shops in the village. Residents said that trucks would also come in the village and sell, but they do not cater for everything they need.

Two old boats moored along the Demerara River at New Hope
Two old boats moored along the Demerara River at New Hope

One resident, Denise, said that she has spent most of her life living in New Hope, and that she had managed to buy a plot of land in the village where she built her home. Denise was sitting on her step watching her two sons play a game of dominoes because there is not much for them to do in terms of recreation.  Her neighbour from across the road was also at her home paying a neighbourly visit. Both of the women were a bit shy about speaking and directed this newspaper to other persons in the area.

Enjoying a game of cricket
Enjoying a game of cricket

Hilton Nedd was busy attending to customers from his water coconut stand when we caught up with him. He appeared to be an easy-going individual and even offered us water coconuts to quench our thirst. From speaking with Nedd, no one could have picked up that he was still grieving over the loss of his wife, Davie Thomas, who passed away during childbirth on New Year’s day this year.

Enjoying a game of dominoes
Enjoying a game of dominoes

Thomas left Nedd to care for their three children, Jamilla, Jafari and Joshua. Jamilla and Jafari are four-year-old twins, while Joshua is 7 year-old. The couple was together for thirteen years.

Nedd said that his wife was pregnant with twins when she died. She had begun to complain of excruciating pain, he said, and he took her to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where an ultrasound scan was done. Doctors at the institution told Nedd that his wife was fine based on the results of the ultrasound, and as such he took her back home.

Mr Frostee! Children waiting to be served as they bought ice creams from the push cart vendor
Mr Frostee! Children waiting to be served as they bought ice creams from the push cart vendor

The man said that he trusted the doctor’s judgment that everything was fine although his wife was still complaining of pain.  She continued to complain of pain  until she passed away during the course of the day, Nedd added.

Swinging in the hammock
Swinging in the hammock

Since his wife’s death, Nedd said that he acts as mother and father for his two sons and daughter. He said that he does two jobs ‒ his coconut business which was his wife’s and lumber yard work ‒ to ensure that they have what they need. He also said his children are so well taken care that they are “spoil.” He continued, “I does give dem wat dem want eat, never ill treat them. I love me children…”

To assist him in taking care of the kids, Nedd hired a babysitter who comes in the morning and leaves in the afternoon after he comes home from his job at the lumber yard. The babysitter also operates the coconut water business when he is at the lumber yard and when he comes home in the afternoon he takes over from her. He said “this hey [pointing to the stand] never close down. Was me wife business and I keep it up since she dead.”

The Nedds' children: from left, Jafari, Joshua and Jamilla
The Nedds’ children: from left, Jafari, Joshua and Jamilla

The death of his partner is still taking a toll on him although he is trying to heal, Nedd added. As such, he said “every night [when] I done pack up dis stand, I buy a quarter [rum] and I drink and go in me bed. I can’t get she out me mind, could neva get a woman to replace she.”

Further down the road Bibi operates a small food business in front of her home. She sells cassava balls, channa, puri and other creole dishes from her shop. She was in her house, situated at the back of the shop, when we paid her an unexpected visit. Thinking that it was customers who came to purchase her tasty dishes, she promptly answered to the call “inside,” with a reply of “yes, a coming.”

Bibi and her son Avinash inside her food shop
Bibi and her son Avinash inside her food shop

After realizing that it was not customers at her shop, Bibi quickly opened up to tell Sunday Stabroek about her small business. She said that she has been cooking for the past 10 years and used to have a stall in the Stabroek Market, but it was closed after bandits robbed her of a large sum of cash.

Being the victim of a robbery is what forced her to operate the business from her home because taking another chance at the previous location did not seem like a good decision, she explained. She also said that her business is what supports her financially, adding that she needs all the income she can earn because she has to have surgery overseas on her eye.

Hilton Nedd at his water coconut stand
Hilton Nedd at his water coconut stand

In terms of how she goes about making the various dishes that she sells, Bibi said that her daughter, who lives with her assists. She said that they would normally prepare the dishes in the morning so as to meet their customer needs throughout the day, but that she does not make a large quantity of each dish, only a small amount. This is because, “some days business does be good and some days it bad.” Her customers include persons passing through the area and a few workmen.

This boy and girl displayed their pet pigeon.
This boy and girl displayed their pet pigeon.

When asked about the general ambience of the community, Bibi endorsed the verdict of other residents that the village is very quiet.  She even went on to say that it is so quiet that by six in the evening everyone is indoors.

Bibi’s son Avinash told us about what he does in his spare time. He said that he plays cricket for the Providence Sports Club along with a few other boys in the area. He said that owing to the lack of recreational facilities in the village, they would have to go to Providence for practice matches because there is no cricket pitch nearby. Avinash added that if they had a playfield, they would not have to go all the way to Providence. He said that the lack of recreational activities causes “everybody [to be] in they yard and who aint in they yard in dem house.”