Residents of Jackson Creek, Upper Corentyne, have coped with their living situation for many years. However, they have now reached their breaking point and are pleading with the authorities to look into their situation and assist them.
Potable water is delivered by way of two standpipes on the road in front of a line of houses. Residents said there is shared access to the two standpipes and each house has over 15 buckets, which they full and store for use.
Jackson Creek remains one of the villages that are unserved by electricity. One frustrated resident, Haseena Ali, said she has lived in Jackson Creek for over 20 years now and the only source of electricity is solar energy. She said that residents who can afford it purchase generators to make their lives a little easier. According to Ali, they were given mini solar systems some time ago by the previous government after numerous representations were made by the villagers.
“Every time when a time fuh vote them a come tell you vote for them and a promise you go get everything but still you na get nothing. This solar thing can only light one light and the TV,” she said.
According to another villager, Shira Banwarrie, after they visited the Guyana Power and Light and pleaded their case, they were told that they would have to come together and purchase a transformer, which would cost an estimated $800,000. “If me can afford to put $100,000, that na mean everybody go afford to put, people poor here and a work fa build them life,” she said. “That can’t be fair man.”
Residents explained that the standpipes on the road are a major inconvenience. One said, “If you come home late and got to go bathe and you forget to full up water, you got to go on the road, that ain’t safe.”
Another said, “Sometimes you a get tired every time you got to full up 10-12 buckets.”
The villagers explained that it was only after a group of them came together and made representation at the Guyana Water Inc office in Chesney, Corentyne, that they were given the standpipes on the road.
However, the friendly villagers also shared some good things about Jackson Creek. They divulged that the David Granger bus runs in and out of the village, which makes it easier for the children to attend school punctually. A few villagers also stated that they like the peace and quiet in the village.
The villagers are pleading with the authorities to look into the matters and assist them. One man said, “We na ask them to do everything, just help up with electricity and set up water in we yard, we gone see fah help we self after that.”
