An Enmore family will soon be able to live comfortably in their own home, when the New Jersey Arya Samaj completes constructing a three- bedroom home for them.
Kamlawattie Harrinauth, 36, related that her goal of educating her children and empowering them can now be easily realised with the construction of her own home.
Kamlawattie Harrinauth with her 14- and 11-year-old daughters and Pandit Suresh Sugrim of the New Jersey Arya Samaj
The family currently lives in a boxed- off compartment at the bottom of another family member. The space accommodates two beds set side by side, leaving no private space for Kamlawattie, her husband and four children, aged 15, 14, 13 and 11.
When Guyana Times International visited the humble home, it was noticed that the apartment barely squeezed the beds in.
The family’s clothing and other personal belongings are packed in boxes and baskets, and lie on the ground outside, close to the wall of their little apartment. Their meals are prepared on an outside ‘fire side’, and the pots and pans lie on a makeshift table nearby.
Nothing about Kamlawattie’s disposition tells of the life she and her family knows. She explained that her family has always lived in this cramped compartment, since they have nowhere else to go. They received a house lot from the Housing Ministry four years ago, but could not afford to erect a structure.
Her husband is a labourer at the Enmore sugar estate, and she does domestic work to supplement the family income. She explained that her family is so poor they are barely able to survive, much more save for a home. “I am a very poor person. We can’t really organise to build a home, so it is very hard.” Kamlawattie says she feels education is the key to empowerment, and that it will help to lift her family out of poverty and bring them the opportunities she always dreamed for herself. “With a comfortable home, they could see their way,” the mother posited.
Kamlawattie’s children are full of dreams and aspirations.
Her fifteen-year-old son says his ambition is to become a mechanic. The last four years were full of disappointments, the woman disclosed.
Kamlawattie stands next to her cooking area. In the background is a window of her apartment
She sought help from several non-governmental organisations, but her efforts were unsuccessful until a woman named Dhanrani Dhan got onto the New Jersey Arya Samaj, and they assessed her situation and decided to build her a home.
“Empowerment and education is the only way to break a cycle of poverty, and that is why we are trying to help this family, because they are willing to help themselves,” Pandit Suresh Sugrim said.
He added that, when he first met the family, the first thing he noticed was their vision to educate the children in their struggle. The children, he says, hold satisfactory track records at school and attend regularly and punctually.
The 30×20 foot home will be constructed with three bedrooms.
The family will, however, have to repay the organisation at the rate of Gy$10,000 per month. This is to allow them to feel a sense of ownership, so they could show appreciation for the home.
After building the home, Kamlawattie says, she may not have furniture or luxurious items to furnish it, but she is still grateful.
Pandit Sugrim, however, added that the money Harrinauth and her family repays will be put into a separate fund to assist her in sending the children to school and to also furnish her home.
The New Jersey Arya Samaj has been registered locally since 2005, and is reliant on the benevolence of overseas-based Guyanese. It is entirely non-profit and doesn’t operate with overhead expenses.
Although it is a Hindu-based organisation, Sugrim said, it does not discriminate against race, colour or creed, since it is focused on humanitarian work.
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