By Telesha Ramnarine
Nasir Barnwell, a father of five school-aged kids, has been living in Samville for 15 years – a long-time off grid and remote community on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway.
Because of the lack of reliable electricity for many years, doing business has not been the easiest of livelihoods there.
So, when Barnwell started his small business – selling fish, chicken, and beef – he was forced to buy ice daily but when the village’s geography posed new challenges to this arrangement he had to close his shop.
Imagine Barnwell’s delight when President Irfaan Ali made a promise that the community would benefit from the services of GPL. With that promise delivered, he is definitely considering to restart his business.
“I feel so happy. I know we woulda get the current but I didn’t know exactly when, so I must say thanks to the President also for letting we have the current in a convenient time,” Barnwell expressed.
“My children feel real happy. We had a television that we put away for a long time, so I will get it up and running. They could do their school work and stuff, so it’s really beneficial,” he added.
One of the houses in Samville that was connected to GPL’s grid recently.
Developed in 2005 through self-help efforts, the once jungle like terrain was cleared manually and gave life to what is now Samville. It is home to about 500 persons, many of whom, will for the very first time in history, access electricity.
This significant development comes following a visit to the community by President Ali.
On October 3, 2024, Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) representatives visited the community to address residents’ concerns and explain the electrification application process.
Because most of the inhabitants are squatters, a process ensued to ensure that they could be regularised in order to access electrification services.
Recognising the urgency of the initiative and its mandate, the company deployed an outreach team a month later, on Sunday, November 3, 2024, led by GPL’s Executive Management Committee Head Kesh Nandlall, to follow-up with residents and to help with their application efforts.
Close to 60 persons received advice with a significant number of those applicants successfully concluding their application process.
The post With electricity now, Samville resident to restart small business appeared first on News Room Guyana.
