Six siblings who became orphans after their parents died a few years ago on Thursday moved into their new, semi-furnished home at Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara following an intervention by the Office of the First Lady.
Twenty-eight-year-old Deeyawd Rasheed and his five siblings – Saudia, Arshina, Farieeza, Reeyawd and Feeyawd – lost their mother, Omelaw Rasheed in 2019. She suffered from renal failure and a heart condition.
A year later, the siblings lost their father Abdool Rasheed during a house fire at Cornelia Ida, West Coast Demerara.
Following Abdool’s death, the burden fell on Deeyawd to care and provide for the family. But there were many challenges and the responsibility took a toll on Deeyawd’s mental health. Deeyawd was also diagnosed with hydronephrosis – swelling of one or both kidneys along with a heart condition.
And so, he sought assistance from First Lady Mrs Arya Ali.
“Before we go and ask her for this house we were living comfortably, but my mother eventually passed away in 2019 and my father, he was burnt to death in a fire in 2020, so we didn’t had any other choice than to go and ask for help,” Deeyawd explained.
While they were living at their grandparents’ place in Cornelia Ida, the siblings claimed that one of their relatives constantly threatened to “throw them out.”
“Today we are receiving a house with three bedrooms, we receiving it semi furnished which is a great help cause furnishing a house now is really hard.
“It will benefit us greatly because I cannot afford to pay rent and my siblings cannot do the same, most of the time I am the one working to provide,” Deeyawd said.
He is employed as a Customs Clerk while one of his sisters is a caretaker.
“My siblings, two of us working, my brother he start fishing work but some days he go out and he get fish and some days he don’t,” Deeyawd related.
Recognising the great loss the family suffered, Mrs Ali decided to help the siblings find a permanent home.
“I saw it fitting not only as a mom but I once grew up in a single-parent home and I know life can be challenging and I am sure Rasheed is facing a lot of challenges but I know he is strong and he has persevered. Today he is the owner of his own home,” Mrs Ali said.
Meanwhile, Mrs Ali further added that the construction of the house was possible with the generous donation of several persons and businesses who did not wish to be named. The house took one year to be completed.
