A previously unnamed street at Ogle, East Coast Demerara was recently commissioned and named after Irene Gonsalves, a local artist and her husband, Augustus, who both died of cancer.
‘Gonsalves Street’ was recently commissioned in memory of the couple, who died in 2010 and 2011, respectively, their son, Ryan said. During an interview with the News Room, the man said his parents were well-known in the community.
“I always used try to find a way that I can permanently leave a mark for them in the community because they were well known in the community.
“They always try to give a helping hand to whoever needs a helping hand and they played a very big part in the society that we are in right now,” Ryan said.
According to Ryan, the couple lived in Ogle for many years. During this time, the road, formerly referred to as First Street Ogle, was always maintained by the family. He said after his parents died, he decided to continue their volunteer work.
Remembering his mother for her art, Ryan said, “coming down to the end, she also indulged in painting so she actually became a very good artist but so happened that she couldn’t get to go along due to the cancer but she was well-known throughout Guyana for her artistic work.”
Ryan would volunteer at cancer awareness activities but later decided that a more permanent reminder of the family’s work in the community would be naming the street after the couple.
“Well before we could get to name the street, I had to get the approval and I had to get the petition signed by most of the residents in the street. Because my family is well-known for the good things that they have done, nobody hesitated,” he explained.
Ryan thanked the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), the community, his wife, and his siblings for their support.
Since the street was commissioned under the new name, the NDC has committed to help with building the road.
“The street is not in a good state and our family has been trying our best to upkeep it personally with our own finances and we have even reached out to the city engineers who came and promised to build the road,” he said.
Ryan also intends to continue volunteering for the development of the community by transforming a vacant area in the community into a recreation park.
