From roadside vendors to professionals: inspiring rise of 2 brothers

Brothers Yuborn and Yulous Allicock, once street vendors, now earn their living as professionals, one being an attorney-at-law and the other being a doctor — marking a remarkable transformation in their lives and a strong impact in their community.
The Allicock brothers were raised in the rural community of Wales, West Bank Demerara (Region Three: Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), attended the Patentia Secondary School, and early in their lives had faced financial hardships. To help ease the strain on their family, their parents asked them to sell homemade delicacies in the local community. Thus, for five years, the brothers filled the entire streets with the enticing aromas of chicken foot souse, mithai, channa, and polourie as they pursued their family’s financial freedom.
During an interview with <<Guyana Times>>, Yulous relayed that before the local delicacies could be placed upon their stalls, their parents, his brothers and he would normally spend hours in the thick mixture of flour as they prepared the foods. “My parents were with us every step of the way, from preparing to selling. They ensured all of the delicacies were properly made before selling them,” he stated.
After preparing the foods, he relayed, they would head out into the streets of Patentia to sell, where other challenges would be awaiting them. “We would start from around 16:00h and then we would go until 22:00h,” he disclosed. Yulous was still attending school at the time.
Braving harsh weather conditions and numerous challenges, including societal stereotypes which came with selling their goods, the brothers remained rooted in their ongoing journey, and embraced every opportunity to learn and grow, embodying the mantra: “It matters not where you are planted, you can grow.”
Through their roadside vending efforts, the family managed to save enough money to send Yulous to receive higher education. It was a decision that proved pivotal in shaping his future aspirations. Yulous, whose dream was to help people, embarked on his desired path of medicine, and his parents used the money to send him to med school.
Despite being granted the opportunity to go to medical school, he often found himself torn between his studies and the need to sell to further fund the rest of his studies, which impacted his focus on medicine when it demanded his undivided attention. However, fortune smiled upon him in the second year of his studies, after he was just about to take a break due to insufficient funds. He was granted a Government scholarship, and it was a moment of great grace that changed the course of his life forever. That scholarship lifted the financial burden from his and his family’s shoulders, as it provided Yulous with the opportunity to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor without the distraction of selling goods.
“That scholarship took the strain off of us a lot, and we didn’t need to be selling on the road as we used to,” he divulged.
Meanwhile, Yuborn’s practical approach to the world led him down the path of Law. Though he was not granted a scholarship like his brother, he found his way through the glorious doors of law school by virtue of some of the money gained from selling on the roadside.
Yuborn, who was hanging onto the pockets of his father and the income gained through his job, faced unimaginable turmoil, which later caused strain to the entire family when his father was injured in an accident that caused him to lose his job.
“My father, who was the main breadwinner at the time, got into an accident; and this caused financial stress for the entire family, as he was forced to leave his job. I think this was the hardest time of our lives,” Yulous expressed on behalf of his brother and family.
Yulous further spoke on his brother’s behalf and said that, because of this unforeseen circumstance, he had to take a year off and find a job to work, as the money could not suffice for his brother’s entire studies.
“My brother had to take a year off to work, as I was not selling food anymore and the only breadwinner of the family was our father. But though he had to work, he got help from my mom and me. Any opportunity we got to help him, we did,” Yulous stated.
Asked by Guyana Times about the significant role their parents played within their journey at that time, Yulous expressed that they did anything to ensure that he and his brothers were good. “Oh my, they left themselves undone just to see us feel good, whether it be emotionally, physically, or financially,” Yulous, who defied all odds, explained.
As ongoing battle came the brothers’ way, the Allicocks learned the value of hard work and perseverance early on from their parents, who instilled in them the importance of self-reliance. With continued determination in their hearts, they both graduated in 2019, making a significant accomplishment not only for their families, but also for the communities at large.
When asked what advice they would give to persons who are experiencing similar financial strains in life, Yulous said, “Just never give up. My mother Shondell Allicock would always say, ‘It’s never too late until it’s too late’. Push until you can’t push any further, and when you meet that point, push a little more,” he stated.