The Story within the Story…Have you ever wondered what’s in our children’s lunch boxes?

Aug 02, 2015 News

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By Leonard Gildarie

I saw a movie a few years back with African-American comedian Chris Rock. Chris wrote the script of “Head of State” and directed the movie which was released in 2003. In it he was pitted against a white American candidate, running for the Presidency. The movie was hilarious, speaking of some real social problems facing that North American country.
During the memorable presidential debate, Rock who hailed from a simple neighbourhood is heard asking his rich rival about being poor. Rock said that it was impossible to talk about being poor when you have never been poor. I thought that movie was the actor’s most memorable one yet.
Six years after that movie was released, Barack Obama became the first black President of the United States. He has been there for six years. At one time, it was difficult to envisage the US boasting of a black president. Now we are talking about Hillary Clinton, a woman, having a real chance.
That question from Rock, although asked in a movie, has stayed with me over the years.
It is difficult to conceptualise poverty without experiencing it.
I grew up in a home where although not much was available, we had smiles on our faces and kept our surroundings in immaculate condition. We had no relatives overseas to send us barrels. We had a mortgage on the home. I was attending Queen’s College and my brother, St Rose’s High.
People in the ‘80s literally lived from paycheck to paycheck. I recalled walking many days from QC to the car park near the Fire Service at Stabroek. There was not enough money for travel. I am not ashamed to say it.
After school, I went straight into work. The family needed it.
I can recall too vividly barely having enough clothes. So when it comes to be poor, I can relate to what Rock was asking. You can’t talk about situations and become an expert when you have never experienced it.
As I look back to those tough days, I try to tell my little ones how much I detest wastage. I hate to see food thrown away. I teach them about appreciating what you have, especially if it came honestly and through hard work.
I hate even more the squandering of opportunities. You have one life to live…give it your best shot. Don’t be an 8 to 4 worker. Push the boundaries.
Today, Guyana has a new administration. It is weeks old. There is much debate about a $10,000 cash programme to parents that was introduced by the previous Government.
The David Granger administration is insisting it wants to assess the programme, which was given out as a one-time thing last year, to determine how effective it was.
Let me make it clear. The vast number of Guyanese will tell the administration that the cash is needed. Who would not take the money? But I also hear accounts of parents taking the money and not spending it on school supplies and other related activities. I can’t obviously say if this is true.
Can Guyana afford it? The answer is known by the new Government.
What I do know is that Guyana has poverty. You have to visit homes in depressed rural and urban areas and in many hinterland locations to witness people making do with precious little.
You have talk to the children who lost a parent and the only one working is barely putting food on the table.
We scoff when we hear stories about a single mom making seven children, five of them for different fathers. I ask, what makes us experts to judge? Do we know what kind of pressure would have been on that woman?
I have seen kids, as young as seven, who are left fending for themselves for days. They depend on neighbours for assistance or a nearby mango tree.
There will be arguments that poverty is all over the world.
My colleague at Kaieteur News, Dale Andrews, was telling me recently of visiting a school where his kids are attending and after giving them some money, he saw a little girl who was sitting alone. He asked her why she was not playing. She was waiting on her dad to bring lunch. She was late for school and had no time to eat in the morning. Dale said tears came to his eyes.
I have seen photographs taken by my friend, Annette Arjoon-Martins, of Amerindian children paddling daily for miles to get to school. Some of them would be without shoes.
Teachers, policemen and security guards in particular are badly underpaid. Yet we wonder why the education system and our English results are the way they are or why crime is the way it is.
My wife tells me she is bombarded by students, mostly little ones, who ask her to buy a hot-dog or a cassava ball. Their little eyes look up to you expectantly. It is hard to refuse them. I know for a fact that many students depend on the cookies and milk and juice that are distributed in the nursery schools. They literally have nothing in their lunch boxes.
Yes, these are the stories that few people talk about. For years, except for a few, we have turned a blind eye. I have decided to take off the gloves, as it hurts. We waste lots of money on programmes and other things that I believe are not priorities.
The new Government would do well to ensure each ministry, especially Education and Social Protection, comes up with programmes that target the poor. We have had too much lip service and improperly implemented projects. We spend millions on consultants, but have little to show for their expert advice.
In my humble view, the new administration should make it a priority to determine how many single parents are out there.
It is impossible to pay a teacher $65,000 monthly or a policeman $50,000 and expect them to deliver. We can tell them to leave, but would that solve the problem?
We can start caring. This country is ours. We each should have our fair share.

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