In search of a better life, 2 Venezuelan biomedical technologists moved to Guyana with US$20

…overcame great challenges, & looking towards rewarding future

By Alva Solomon

When they arrived in Guyana on February 18, 2019, two Venezuelan women had only US$20 between them. The following day, they started scouring the city in search of employment, and found same in stores, offices, and later the hospitals, in the weeks and months which followed.

Today, with an established company bearing their names – ElectroBio – Nathaly Vargas and Mercedes Leal are determined to settle on these shores, and explore their electrical talents while contributing to the country’s development in the biomedical and electrical sectors.
Nathaly Vargas is a biomedical engineer by profession, a career in which she has been involved for more than 12 years. She studied electro-medicine at the Francisco de Miranda National Experimental University in Venezuela.
Her colleague Mercedes Leal studied computer science engineering in Venezuela and at the IUTLL de los llanos Altagracia de Orituco university.
These two friends have combined their efforts to form this company, which provides biomedical services to hospitals and private entities in the city. They also can fix any electrical device, including smartphones, electric bikes and drones.

Making the move
The women told Guyana Times that, prior to 2019, they had thought about moving to these shores in search of a better life. At the time, they said, the Venezuelan economy had tanked and was in deep turmoil, and prices for basic goods and necessities were drastically high.

They said they had heard about life in Guyana from their friends and colleagues, and during the initial stages of their plans, had decided to take the legal route to settle here.
“We went into the Guyanese Embassy in Caracas to find out how we can come here, and we got the six-month tourist visa,” Vargas said.
She said they contacted a travel agent, who informed that they could travel to Guyana via Boa Vista in Brazil and Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). They then boarded their transportation, said goodbye to their families and friends, and headed for Guyana.
“It was my first time leaving Venezuela,” Leal said.
Vargas said that when they arrived in Boa Vista, she recalled her friend crying as they prepared to head onward to Lethem. “She start to cry in Boa Vista, and she said, ‘I left my country’,” Vargas said.
The trip from Caracas to Georgetown lasted three days, the duo revealed. Vargas said their custodian arranged a place for them to rent for two weeks after their arrival. “When we just arrived, during that first week, we started looking for work,” she said, adding that they were not sure how much time they would have taken before finding jobs. Their main concern was finding a job to offset their living expenses, since they only had US$20.
Finding work and
learning to speak English
Vargas said she first found a job at a mobile phone/ electronic store on Regent Street, Georgetown. There she repaired phones, but the job lasted only two weeks, since the salary was not enough to sustain her. She then found another job at a mobile phone store on Robb Street, Georgetown, where she also repaired phones. She stayed there for three months before moving to work at a Chinese store. Several weeks later, someone mentioned that there was a job opening at a biomedical company on Brickdam.
“That was my field of work,” she said. She said she worked several months for that company, during which time she heard about another job opening in the biomedical field at another company in the city.

She said that, through networking, she received an offer to work voluntarily at the Georgetown Public Hospital for a month. She said it was tough working without pay, but she noted that it was an aspect of the job requirement. Later, she said, she found a job at a popular private hospital, and it was there that she explored her knowledge of the field. She said it was a rewarding experience.

Different journey
Leal, a qualified computer engineer, had a different journey. She said she first found a job at the Georgetown Seawall at a fast-food outlet which sells burgers and hot dogs. “Everything you needed, I made it: burgers, hot dogs, good food, but my English was very slow”, she said. She then worked at several stores in the city, and at one point, the duo worked at the same store.
Leal said she then landed a job at the private hospital with Vargas, in the biomedical service department of the company. The women said that one of the challenges they faced after landing here was learning the English language. Vargas said that within three months she had learnt the language through interactions and via online studies. Leal noted that she had a difficult time adapting, and at the moment she is still learning.
Vargas speaks fluent English, even as she continues to learn more about the language. For her, learning the English language is of great importance, since the equipment which she handles are programmed in English. “All the menus are in English, standby power and applications, everything is in English,” she said.

Fixing devices
Vargas said she believes any task the male gender can do can be done by the female, such as working in the electrical field. She said she can fix any electrical device, such as mobile phones, tablets, electric carts, drones, as well as appliances and household electrical circuits. She also repairs and services her electric bike, which is the duo’s main means of transportation around the city.
“My profession is inter-disciplined. You had to study electronics, physics, mathematics, electrophysiology, biology, different aspects of science,” she added. “So, 60% of the biomedical profession is fixing equipment. So, in Caracas, they send you to hospitals, clinics, medical centres and so, and you have to fix equipment with people who had the knowledge before you,” she said.
Leal said her field of work includes providing diagnostic and maintenance services to computers and computerized equipment. She also undertakes training others, such as people at the private hospitals, on how to undertake day-to-day servicing of computerized equipment.
Her line of work also includes webpage designing, and as such, she designed the entity’s website -Electrobiocompany.com. She functions as the community relations official of the entity.

Feedback
Since the formation of their company a year ago, the women said, many people who utilised their services have given positive reviews of the entity. In addition, members of the public have declared themselves impressed by the women’s talent, including their ability to fix various electrical equipment.
Vargas and Leal have said they fell in love with Guyana since arriving here in 2019, and they noted that Guyanese have been very welcoming and helpful to them. They also fell in love with the local cuisine, cook-up rice is one of their favourites. They said they plan to apply for naturalization status in the years to come, once they meet the requirements to undergo that process.
Both women said they have no plan to return to Venezuela to live; however, they wish to travel back to the Bolivarian Republic to see their families for a few days.
“We want to continue to expand our company here in Guyana, and also to become naturalized Guyanese,” Vargas said.
They said they will continue to provide their biomedical and electrical services to the public with the same hunger as they did when they first started working here.