Dear Editor,
I am a hard-working and proud Indigenous woman who provides for, and takes care of, my family of three while my husband is away in the interior in Region Seven.
Sometimes it’s difficult for me to send my children to school and put a nutritious meal on the table, but I make-do with what is at my disposal.
Recently, I read in the newspapers that the Government intends to give us a cash grant of $25,000 to assist us with the effects of the hardships brought about by the rise in cost of living. As one of the intended beneficiaries, I must say that this is welcome. So, too, will be the $800M in total which would be placed in the hands of residents of the hinterland and riverine communities like myself.
I therefore want to thank the Peoples’ Progressive Party Civic Government and President Irfaan Ali for this impending relief and gesture.
I am grateful to them because they saw us, Amerindians and Indigenous people, as important and worthy of such an allocation at this time.
I am proud to say that had the sum been $15,000 or $20,000, I would have quickly joined any line and collected it. $25,000 will go a far way in ensuring I can meet the shortfall I am experiencing in the household with groceries.
This grant is the sort of intervention needed by hinterland families to help us withstand the hardship brought to bear by many factors. We suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, then our suffering was made worse by flooding and the rise in fuel prices and essential food items.
In closing, I wish to urge all Guyanese to work towards making President Ali’s vision of “One Guyana” come true. Every single affected resident or family must get this cash grant. They must feel like I do, that the Government cares and is trying to make our lives more tolerable as they fight off the effects of the rising cost of living.
This thing is not about politics; it is about the people surviving the storm caused by the prices.
Yours truly,
Annalise Humphrey
Kwakwani, Region Tena
