Businessman builds mortuary, bridges for Hururu residents

A Crabwood Creek, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) saw miller has invested millions of dollars to assist residents of Hururu Village along the Berbice River in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

A mortuary is among the projects built by the businessman for the community.
The mortuary was handed over to the village council. According to saw miller Ameer Bacchus, this will see the phasing out of the old village practice of having to dig a hole in the ground into which the deceased and ice were placed until the funeral.
The $4.5 million mortuary will also benefit the neighbouring villages of Aroaima, Wikki-Culcuni, Tacama, Ituni, and Waruni and many other villages along the Upper Berbice River.
According to Bacchus, the nearest mortuary is situated at Kwakwani, which is some distance away.
He said electricity was provided to the facility but while it does not have a freezer, facilities are in place to preserve the bodies until the families decide on the final resting place.
Hururu has 700 residents. It is the community to where Bacchus brings out his logs to ship them down river.

Bacchus said the initiative was part of his social responsibility to the people of Hururu Village since he has a logging concession in the community and has invested millions of dollars as well as offered employment to persons there.
According to the businessman, he has also invested in ensuring that the children and adults are educated and has donated books to the village library also.
In addition, three bridges have also been constructed by Bacchus in the area to benefit schoolchildren.
“Last month, I build three bridges in the Village to assist with crossing over the creeks. The ones that they had had been destroyed and crossing was very difficult and during the rainy season some children could not get to school,” Bacchus told Guyana Times during a visit to the area.
“It was bad for the children going to school. They have all kind of things to cross. This one was not here; I know they are glad for that. The two that he build over there were really bad; anything could have fallen down,” 84-year-old Edmund Mittelholzer, a resident of Hururu, told this newspaper.
Another resident, Hansul Vandenburg said that Bacchus has contributed immensely to the village and it was good to see people fulfilling their social responsibility.
Bacchus, however, said that he was happy to give back to the community and has indicated that his next undertaking would be to build a church for the community. (Andrew Carmichael)