22nd of February, 2022. Region 4, Guyana, South America
Last updated: February 22, 2022 at 19:38 pm
The grandmother of a disabled man whose public assistance fund was cut off suddenly has reached out to this publication to voice her plight in the hopes that it will reach the eyes and ears of the relevant authorities who will in turn take steps to relieve her distress.
73-year-old, Sookwattie Balgobin, of 143 Enterprise Squatting Area, East Coast Demerara, told this publication that her grandson, 27-year-old Yogendra Balgobin, was born visually impaired, and despite various medical procedures, he is still unable to see sufficiently so as to work or take care of himself unsupervised. Yogendra also suffers from epilepsy for which he constantly needs to take prescription medications and which brings on epileptic seizures an estimated once every three months.
Mrs. Balgobin explains that Yogendra had started to receive public assistance from the Guyana government since he was 9 years old. However, in January, 2021, at the time of the issuance of the new public assistance book, Mrs. Balgobin was told that she cannot receive the public assistance for Yogendra because she is the grandmother, and not the mother, of the disabled man.
Mrs. Balgobin further explains that the mother of the disabled man had migrated to Canada since November, 2020. Nevertheless, the disabled man has been in the care of the grandmother since he was a child.
The distressed elderly woman lamented to this publication that the withholding of her grandson’s public assistance funds has put her under great financial strain and emotional distress since the task of taking care of Yogendra rests squarely on her shoulders at this moment. She expressed her frustration at the various government offices which have put her on a back-and-forth since January, 2021 and which have ultimately refused to release the funds for Yogendra.
Team Guyana, South America calls on the relevant authorities to investigate and rectify this matter as early as possible. Mrs. Balgobin can be reached on (592) 643 8871.
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