As it approaches two months since the implementation of the countrywide lockdown and a restriction on non-essential services enacted on April 3, residents of Canal Number Two, West Bank Demerara are worried about what they will be having for their next meal while others are anxious about how long their meagre savings will last.
Seventy-one-year-old widow, Amoutie Alli lives with her grandson who some months ago could have supplemented her old age pension with the little money he made from doing odd jobs around the community, but for the last two months, no one seems to have any work for him to do. Her grandson was raised by her from a young age after his mother (her daughter) passed away.
With concrete covering most of the yard, there isn’t much soil left to plant in but she does a bit of gardening with the little that’s available. Her daughter, husband as well as another grandson who lives in a small apartment attached to the house she said, are facing the same dilemma. Her son-in-law is also without a job and she tries to help them all with whatever little she has.
