Senior Multimedia Reporter
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Help is slowly trickling in for ailing widow Sherryann Ramnarine, who is struggling to care for her six children, two of whom have been out of school since their father died suddenly last year.
The 46-year-old mother and her children live in a rented basement in Rio Claro, where she says the family sometimes goes without food.
Ramnarine said her husband, 57-year-old Asheem Mohammed, died from a massive heart attack on July 6, 2025, leaving the family without its main source of income.
Now, with four months’ rent owing and her own health deteriorating, Ramnarine is appealing for assistance.
“I am very ill. I really don’t have any family to help me in any way,” she said.
Mohammed was self-employed as a builder, doing construction, tiling, plumbing and ceiling work. Ramnarine said she also worked whenever she could, cleaning and taking on small jobs to supplement the family’s income.
But after her husband’s death, she said the family’s financial situation became increasingly difficult.
Ramnarine said she did not even have the money to bury her husband and had to rely on relatives for assistance.
The landlord, who knew the family’s circumstances, allowed Ramnarine and the children to remain in the basement rent-free for three months. That period has since ended.
Ramnarine said she applied for a food card but has not received one. She said it took 11 months before she received $1,900 in public assistance, which she described as the only assistance she had received since her husband’s death.
She is also dealing with several health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, heart problems and a kidney stone.
Doctors have advised her against working because of the strain on her heart.
“I am unable to work,” she said. “My doctor told me not to go and work because I might get a heart attack just like my husband.”
Her eldest daughter, Kimberly Mohammed, 17, completed CSEC with eight subjects but is now at home as she tries to help her mother.
Kimberly has completed courses in nursing assistance, first aid, CPR, geriatric nursing, hair and nails, and said she wants to find employment.
“I am a very hardworking person. I push myself to the limits that I know I’m capable of,” she said.
She said she has accompanied her mother from business to business seeking employment but has repeatedly been told that business is slow.
Kimberly said she has also been unable to obtain her national identification card because she needs a deed poll.
She has been doing hair for small amounts of money, sometimes earning $50 or $60, which she uses to help provide food for the family.
The family’s education situation is also a concern.
Ramnarine said her 15-year-old daughter, Samaya, has been out of school for more than a year because transportation became a problem after her school transport arrangements changed.
She has been trying to arrange a transfer to a school closer to home.
Two younger children, Shania, 12, and Travis, 10, have obtained transfers to schools closer to the family.
Ramnarine’s 14-year-old son, Brandon, who has autism, is being homeschooled, while her youngest child, Liam, has never attended preschool.
Ramnarine said she wants her children to return to school and have opportunities beyond the hardship that has consumed the family since their father’s death.
“For the past nine months since our dad died, it’s real hard knowing that some days we have to go without food,” Kimberly said.
MP for Mayaro Nicholas Morris said he plans to visit the family to assess their circumstances.
Morris said the family already receives public assistance for three of the children and that he is also looking at ways to help Kimberly secure employment.
Asked whether Samaya and another child could be transferred to a secondary school closer to the family, Morris said he would speak with Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath about getting the children back into school.
Minister of Social Development Vandana Mohit has also sent a team to assess the family’s circumstances and determine what assistance can be provided.
Ramnarine said any assistance would be appreciated as she tries to keep her family together.
“I’ll appreciate any kind of help. It doesn’t have to be big,” she said.
Anyone wishing to assist Sherryann Ramnarine and her six children can contact 291-0690, 361-3646 or 335-7974.
