Charity founder says rising costs, low wages keep single mothers in poverty

May 11, 2026 News

The organisation at times helps to build homes for poor women and elderly citizens

Kaieteur News– Even as Guyana continues to experience unprecedented economic growth fuelled by its booming oil sector, many single mothers across the country are still struggling to survive on low-paying jobs, rising living costs and little social support, according to a local charity organisation working directly with vulnerable families.

Razanna Mohamed is the founder of ‘Rose for Relief,’ a registered charity established during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her own experiences with poverty led to the creation of the organisation which focuses on single mothers and the elderly.

In an interview with Kaieteur News last Saturday, Mohamed recalled how hardships facing single mothers became glaringly evident during the nationwide lockdowns in 2020, when many single mothers who were employed as domestic workers suddenly lost their incomes.

As a nursery school teacher, she had ample opportunity to come into contact with these individuals, so with support from friends and family, she began distributing hampers, and later even going into depressed communities to find more individuals. The simple arrangement of hamper distribution soon turned into food drives, clothing donations, home repairs and other forms of support, even constructing houses for some women and elderly citizens living in poor conditions.

However, she noted that providing a home is often not enough to permanently lift families out of poverty. “We started by building a home for Shirley but to date she is still living in poverty because a house needs maintenance,” she explained. “Most of these single mothers don’t own a piece of land and even if they do, they can’t afford to build because the materials are so expensive,” she shared.

According to her, many of the women assisted by the organisation are employed part-time or work as domestic workers earning approximately $50,000 monthly, an amount she said is insufficient to adequately support children while paying rent and other bills amid the country’s rising cost of living. “Most are part-time workers earning about $50,000 a month or they are doing domestic work. The money isn’t enough because they have to pay rent, take care of their kids, some of them are even widows,” she said.

She argued that despite Guyana’s rapid development and infrastructure expansion, many ordinary citizens, particularly vulnerable women, continue to live in poverty. She also drew attention to the difficulties faced by elderly persons who are unemployed, but have not yet reached pension age, as well as families unable to access government assistance because they lack identification documents. “Some of these people don’t even have ID cards, so they can’t get the cash grant and other benefits,” she explained. “So, we try to help them as much as we can but there’s only so much you can do.”

Razanna Mohamed (right) with a beneficiary

Mohamed is calling for the authorities to pay attention to the lengthy processes involved in accessing some benefits, such as materials to help build homes. “There are people waiting for years and not getting a house lot. Priority should be given to these single mothers,” she said. “The process for some benefits is so long…you have to know somebody before you get help.”

She also questioned whether one-off government cash grants are enough to address long-term poverty. “They say they are giving $100,000 cash grant but when you go to the supermarket and start to shop, that $100,000 is finished and you still have 11 months more to live,” she observed.

She said ‘Rose for Relief’ plans to expand its food, clothing and school supply drives while introducing youth mentorship programmes, skills training initiatives, small business assistance and medical outreach projects. The organisation also hopes to strengthen partnerships with businesses, volunteers and government agencies to broaden its impact on vulnerable communities.

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Razanna Mohamed, Rose for Relief, youth mentorship programmes

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