Mother of three devoid of basic necessities needs your help
The structure called home by the woman and her three children and which built on her brother’s land. (inset) is the cooking area
Life is certainly not smooth sailing for some in Guyana, especially those who live in extreme poverty. Those who manage single-parent families and cannot rely on a job. At the moment, Victalett Wilson understands this all too well.
At just the age of 28, she cares for three children, ages 14, 9 and 6. The family is living in a makeshift shack that she “threw up” on her brother’s land at Zeelugt South, West Coast Demerara.
Speaking with the BIG Smith News Watch, Wilson related that though her brother has given her permission to reside on his land, she still wants to get her own home.
At the moment, life is difficult as when rain falls, the family gets wet.
A chair with school and text books is covered with plastic as the family prepares for any sudden downpour
What more can she do but to bail out the water? No one has yet responded to her call for help to fix the roof. So she continues to “knock up” whatever she can and tries to make do with the situation.
To make matters worse, Wilson and her family do not even enjoy the most basic of life’s amenities. She gets potable water from her neighbour each day. There is no electricity, “I have a little solar but the battery is little so the phone doesn’t get to charge properly. Right now, my son is supposed to be on zoom, but the phone cut off,” she related.
Although Wilson said she feels bad about having to approach her neighbour for help, she said the neighbour never shows her a bad face and is always willing to assist, including with providing her internet.
She remains out a job since earlier this year when circumstances forced her to quit her job. She worked as a security guard at the Leonora Track and Field from 7 am to 7 pm and her boss was tight on granting permission for time off.
According to Wilson, she became upset when she asked for time off for her son’s graduation and was denied. All the while, she noted, another female employee who seemed to be the favourite was always granted the time she wanted.
“I told him my children come first, so I took the time off. Graduations don’t happen on a regular basis, so I wanted to attend. I told him I would put my children in front of anyone,” Wilson said.
The general kitchen area of the family
She had applied for a house lot in 2014 and attended an outreach recently. “They took my documents, photocopied them and said they will contact me in two weeks. I’m still waiting on those two weeks,” she said about the outreach.
At the moment, Wilson is in need of a job and a home. Some of her more immediate needs include electricity and water. She can be contacted on telephone number 688 2925.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The photographs of the woman and her children were not published as the children are all minors and we wish to protect them. Publishing the woman’s photograph could have caused the children to be identified by way of association
