Christmas wishes have come through for the Dhuman family of Corentyne, Berbice when their unfinished house was completed so they could move in for the holiday season.
Angelha Dhuman, 28, is extremely grateful that she and her three daughters, ages seven, 11 and 13, are able to enjoy their own house for the first time.
She looked forward to that her whole life and said “dreams do come through.”
Despite the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic putting a damper on the celebration, the family is still in the Christmas spirits.
She plans to make it extremely special for her children by cooking their favourite food, baking a cake and buying chocolate, ice cream, grapes, apples and other goodies for them.
As a Christian, she believes that Christmas is all about enjoyment with family and this year it will be a whole new experience for them.
A single mother who survived an abusive relationship, she was overjoyed to see her children beaming with excitement when the house was completed.
They were eager to decorate the house with fairy lights and Christmas tree to give it the festive look.
With her limited budget, she was not planning to buy presents for the children.
She had said: “Moving in this house is a present for all of us… We feel very happy, we can feel Christmas now,” she told Stabroek News.
“I always prayed for the day when I would be able to own a house and provide a better life for my children. God made it happen for us.”
When this newspaper spoke to her again, she said she was pleasantly surprised when she received calls from the donors that they had sent money to purchase toys and other presents for the children.
“This made us very happy… We were not expecting that because they did so much already… I’m not sure yet what they [children] want but I will take them to shopping so they can choose,” she said.
“…I thank God for everything…I pray about a lot of things and I know God made a way for me… He send people to help me.”
Her brother, Amar Dhuman, 23, also “worked very hard to help finish the house.”
Dhuman had endured a lot of struggles during her marriage and after it ended, she encountered a disaster.
She lost all of her belongings in a fire that destroyed the house she stayed in with her single mother, brother and a niece.
A few kindhearted people reached out and provided grocery, school supplies and other items to the family.
They moved temporarily with her father who lives in a small house on a plot of land a few villages away.
The fire turned out to be a blessing in disguise, when some US-based Guyanese offered to build a house for her family on a section of her father’s land.
Dhuman was extremely grateful for the gesture, noting that she could not have achieved the house without their help.
But during the construction, her dreams were shattered for a while after she was told that the main donor could not continue to fund the project.
The house needed a lot more work including the installation of the roof, windows and doors. She could not afford the completion.
The woman spent sleepless nights worrying about where the money would come from and had even become depressed and suicidal.
What was worse was that she got the shocking news at a time when she was unable to work for three months because of the pandemic.
It was after an article about her struggles was published in this newspaper in July this year, that her life changed for the better.
A few people reached out to this newspaper for her contact number, offering to help. But only two of them kept their promises to ensure that the house was completed so the family can live in comfort.
In a recent interview, Dhuman was elated that her life took a positive turn. She was contented that the donors, who are unknown to each other, provided enough money to finish the construction.
She was touched when they even offered to have the house painted before she moved in. A relative from overseas also provided some monetary assistance.
“The house looks neat and clean… everything is so nice. The kitchen and washroom are tiled. We never had that before… We never had indoor washroom. We feel very special…,” Dhuman said excitedly.
For the first time too, the family is enjoying their “own light and water…. We used to get water from the neighbour. We are happy to have lights too… We would have a bright Christmas this year.”
Happiness
Dhuman believes that after all that she passed through in life, she deserves her happiness now.
Dhuman had witnessed her mother being abused and she too became a victim of abuse in a marriage she was forced into at the age of 13.
By the time she was 16-years-old, she already had two children. Her third daughter was born almost six years later and continued to live a life of misery.
A few months after her birth she finally got the chance to end the marriage.
Her former husband still does not honour his obligations to support his children, even though he was ordered by the court.
Dhuman had said, “I am really happy that I left him and I can give my kids a good life. Now I don’t have to worry that someone will come home, stressing me and my kids out…I thank God for peaceful days and nights…”
She wished if she could have done more for her children though because “they’re getting big and things getting harder… They have a lot of needs.”
She vowed to ensure that they continue their education so they would not have to suffer the way she did.
Meanwhile, Dhuman said she wants to “live a positive life; a life for God.” And as such, she wished to “forgive everyone who hurt me and move on, especially my children’s father.”
