Latest update December 13th, 2024 1:00 AM
I never giving up” says differently abled HEYS Entrepreneur
Rocliffe Rodrigues a 34-year-old entrepreneur in the Hinterland Employment Youth Service HEYS Programme, a husband, a father of three and an amputee says he’s proud of all his accomplishments since participating in the youth programme in 2019.
Rodrigues and his wife who are HEYS participants, own a growing animal farm in Aranaputa, North Rupununi, Region Nine, with seven head of cattle, 106 sheep, 20 pigs, a duck farm and several horses.
He was able to defy the odds and together with his wife, has created a sustainable livelihood for his family.
The enthusiastic farmer who is an amputee, revealed that in the earlier stages of getting his business on the road, the business faced its fair share of challenges but with support, he was able to come this far.
He said his biggest fear was the fact that he has one leg. This caused great uncertainty over his ability to grow his business since the negative forces were prevalent, compounded by an illness that was plaguing his animals, proper housing and fencing for protection.
Credit, he says, must be given to a villager who saw his potential and kept encouraging him to continue and not give up.
“I wanted to give up; sheep getting sick, some going to people house and eat up their things, so I decided to sell out and kill and sell and done with dah. But I reach this man and he told me to never give up. To this day, he always tell me that.
“It was very hard but I still coming through and I am proud of myself because I have my own farm,” Rodrigues said confidently.
He added that he came to the realisation that “life doesn’t end there. You got to do what you got to do. Do it like a man. So not because I got a one foot means that I can’t do it; I never giving up.”
He said, “In the next ten years, I see myself as a big, big businessman. I want no less than 5,000 sheep, my own butcher shop, couple hundred head of cows. I have to know how to set myself.”
Rodrigues also revealed that only last year, he was able to dig a tug well on his farm since it will ensure his animals have enough water year round.
Speaking about the opportunities HEYS has afforded him and several hundred others, nationwide, Rodrigues posited that, “The HEYS programme was more than just a stipend. Today plenty people out there want this opportunity and can’t get it.”
“Plenty of them from here fall away and them well and strong.”
“I proud of HEYS. I got plenty things because I made use of the opportunity. The other day, I sell some meat and I roll up to collect my money–one hundred gran– and a couple of the HEYS students been deh. And when I collect, I buy dem one, one beer and deh happy,” he stated.
He said his personal development also comes with its fair share of challenges since “some people vex that I making it now. Even some of my own friends saying ‘One Foot’ getting rich and now he turning a snitch. But I doing what I got to do. That is my first priority.”
He said he is thankful for the support that he continues to receive from his wife and the wider community.
Like Rodrigues, the HEYS programme also provided opportunities to the differently abled across the hinterland with many sharing life-changing testimonies on the positive impact, which the programme continues to make in their lives.
The HEYS Programme, which is now deemed a movement, has seen close to 4,000 youths benefit, and there are already plans for a third cohort in 2020 which will target another 4,000.
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