CHERYL Hamilton is an insurance agent with GTM and a resident of Farm Village, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, and is also the caregiver for her 101-year-old uncle. She has three daughters, all aspiring to maximise the opportunities within reach.
The 58-year-old has been living in the village since the age of 12, following the death of her parents.
“I consider my aunt and uncle my parents because I grew up with them, and they brought me up well,” she said.
Recalling her life, growing up in Farm Village, Hamilton told the Pepperpot Magazine that her mother died in 1972, while her father passed away in 1976. She then went to live with her aunt and uncle in 1977.
Her mother’s sister and her husband took care of her since age 12.
She remembered adjusting very quickly, but the place was very different back then. It had a train line instead of the road, and it had just a few houses.
The place was busy, and it was used primarily for farming. It was a squatting area in those days, she recalled.
Hamilton stated that the new road was built in 2006 and they were very pleased with that development, making it a roadside village.
She added that they lacked basic utilities such as water, electricity, landline phone and internet back then. Today,she explained that all that has changed, and they are benefitting from those services.
Hamilton recalled fetching water from a standpipe which was some distance away from her house, and it took a lot of hours and walking to do that.
“In those days, things were simpler. When someone in the village died, a male would walk through the village ringing a bell to announce the death,” she said.
After her aunt passed away in 2008, she took the responsibility of caring for her uncle, who is aged but still trying to cope with aches and pains.
Of her three daughters, Uel Hamilton started a small business doing hair and nails and also rearing meat birds to earn.
She would also prepare snacks to sell in Perth Village, at her boyfriend’s place, where they collectively rear 102 meat birds to sell.
The 23-year-old and another sister would partner and make the snacks to sell every day.
They are planning to open a shop/salon from their home soon, which will be suitable for business since they reside on the public road.
Another daughter, Chame` Halley, is an interior decorator who graduated from Carnegie School of Home Economics.
She is 19 years old and aspires to establish her own small business someday.
Meanwhile, the 30-year-old, her eldest daughter, does crochet and she lives at Melva Cort.
Hamilton and her three daughters are all proud to utilise their skills as entrepreneurs.
