Father of two battling blindness and hardship, seeks financial help

Apr 20, 2025 Features / Columnists, News, Waterfalls Magazine

By: Christal Yong

Kaieteur News- Once a provider, a protector, and a steady presence for his two children, Darrell Rigby now finds himself in a desperate fight not only for survival, but for dignity, shelter, and a future for his family.

Father of two battling blindness and hardship, seeks financial help

The poor living condition of the makeshift home the family is living in

At 49, Rigby is the father of two school-aged children; his son is 15, his daughter 13. For years, he worked as a security officer at a hospital, providing for his family and doing his best to keep them safe. But in March 2023, everything changed. He lost his job due to worsening eyesight, caused by glaucoma, which had begun to affect his ability to work.

“It started back in 2020,” he told The Waterfalls. He added, “At first, I could still manage. I could still see well enough to work. But gradually… it just got worse.”

Glaucoma, often called the “silent thief of sight,” slowly tightened its grip. Over the next few years, Rigby’s vision deteriorated to the point where navigating daily life became a challenge, let alone maintaining a full-time job. The world around him dimmed, and so did his opportunities.

The exterior of the house

Now, he and his children are living in a squatting situation, in a makeshift home that offers little protection from the elements.

He says, “The roof leaks when it rains. The whole place got holes. It’s hard to sleep at night.”

“Sometimes we have to stay up just trying to keep dry,” the father continued.

But even in this bleak chapter of his life, Rigby is clinging to hope.

In 2024, his family was granted a small plot of land in Vigilance by the government, a beacon of possibility. “We have the land,” he says. “It’s there. But we don’t have anything to start building.” With no job, no income, and limited mobility, Rigby can’t begin construction on the home that could finally give his children the safety and stability they need.

The exterior of the house

That’s why he is now reaching out for help from anyone willing and able to assist.

He is not just seeking financial assistance for a house. He’s fighting for a new start, for a roof that doesn’t leak, for a place his children can study and sleep in peace, for the chance to send them to school and keep them off the streets, for the dignity of not having to choose between a meal and a school uniform.

He highlighted, “It’s not about me anymore, it’s about them, my children. I just want to give them a chance.”

Today, Rigby is not only battling blindness, he’s fighting poverty, displacement, and the creeping sense of hopelessness that comes from being forgotten. But he is not giving up.

With help, he believes a new life is still possible. If persons are interested in making donations to him, they can make contact through his cell phone number (+592) 691-6614.

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