Village feature – Lichfield, West Coast Berbice

The friendly and helpful residents of Lichfield, West Coast Berbice are known for their independence with many of them being engaged in cattle and rice farming.

Some have established businesses like gold mining and small groceries and snackettes, while others are employed as teachers, nurses, a dental technician and clerks. Two young residents are also pursuing studies in law while another is being trained as a laboratory technician.

Youths chatting

Oasis cafe celebrates eight anniversary

Oasis Café yesterday celebrated eight years since opening its doors at Carmichael Street, Georgetown.

Owners, William and Nisa Walker thanked their faithful customers and were honoured to serve free Bobby’s chocolate cake to everyone who walked in.

Nisa Walker (fourth from left) and some of her staff members pose with the anniversary cake

According to William, “Time has flown since we made the first cappuccino, served the first bake and saltfish and prepared the first lunch buffet.”

He said too: “We remember that day well, the anxiety of wondering whether a coffee house would work in Guyana and whether we would be up to the task of running what is a traditionally hard business.

“Well we made it! Some sacrifices, some hardship, some tears but a lot of laughter and a lot of satisfaction at how the cafe has been embraced and made a part of the lives of so many of you. On this special day we would also like to thank the staff, especially Dawn who has been with us since the very beginning.”

Fire victims get assistance from UG Berbice Campus

As victims of a recent fire at Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice try to rebuild their lives, they received a cash donation from the University of Guyana Berbice Campus (UGBC) yesterday.

Outgoing Director of the campus, Professor Daizal Samad made the presentation on behalf of the campus to Dhanmattie Harinarine, 30, and her four children along with her father-in-law, Ragbeer, 67.

Professor of UGBC, Daizal Samad (third from left) along with Shazeena Seetayah (left) during the handing over of the items to the family

Fireman dies in West Berbice accident

A fireman lost his life when the car he was travelling in slammed into a utility pole at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice around 11:15 am yesterday; the driver and another occupant sustained injuries.

Linden Mc Calmont, 47, of Georgetown and formerly of Linden along with the two others was rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital and succumbed while receiving treatment.

Bush Lot woman dies after giving birth

A 27-year-old woman of Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice died on Wednesday morning after giving birth via caesarean-section to a healthy baby boy at the Balwant Singh Hospital in Georgetown.

Shellene ‘Shelly’ Jagjit-Ragoobeer, a Systems Development Officer in the education department of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), Region Five was admitted at the hospital on Saturday when she visited for her “clinic date.” She was two weeks short of her due date.

Designer escapes serious injury after struck by car

A young Georgetown designer escaped serious injuries though he was struck by a car after a truck ran into it at Fort Wellington, West Coast Berbice last Friday.

The accident occurred at around 1pm after Andy Cummings, 20, of Sophia, had just disembarked from the car, HC 1633, and was removing his bags from the trunk. He was hit and suffered bruises about the body and he was rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital, where he was treated and discharged.

Remains of missing man found five years later

The search for Rajnarine Hookumchand of Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice who went missing on October 15, 2008 officially ended on Monday when his decomposed remains were discovered in a Georgetown mortuary.

The remains were first found on March 20 at Mahaica by a farmer but the identity was unknown. It was not until the pathologist was about to perform the autopsy that the man’s identification (ID) card was found in his shirt pocket.

Region 5 to ensure Mahaicony technical institute gets full enrolment

Regional chairman of Region Five Bindrabhan Bisnauth has said that one of the main focus for next year is to ensure that the Mahaicony Technical & Vocational Centre (MTVC) is up and running to its full capacity.

Bisnauth was responding to a question at a press conference held last week at the regional boardroom at Fort Wellington about a drop in the MTVC’s attendance level.

Front row from left: Regional Education Officer Owen Pollard, Regional Vice-chairman Rion Peters; Regional Executive Officer Ashford Ambedkar and Management Analyst Janice Whyte.

Constables arrested over robbery at stalls in NA market

Two constables of the New Amsterdam market were taken into police custody on Tuesday following the discovery of a break-in at Husain’s Jewellery Store in the market in which over $1.5M worth in jewellery was stolen.

Owner of the store, Zainool Husain told this reporter that the bandits cleaned out his glass case of gold, diamond and silver jewellery.

Labourer dies after struck by car

A 34-year-old labourer of Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice lost his life after he was struck down on a pedestrian crossing in the village by a Toyota Premio motorcar around 7:30 pm on Tuesday.

Zulfikar Alli known as ‘Zul’ who suffered injuries to his head was rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.