Since being accepted for overseas work with the Methodist Church, we have been awaiting news of a possible placement. Then in December we received a message out of the blue inviting us to visit Guyana with a view to a possible placement here. At the time we knew little if nothing about this land and have been assimilating information ever since! I write this from our host’s home in Georgetown, Guyana and want to share some information about the country.
Guyana facts – a brief summary!
Guyana is the only South American country with English as its official language, though Creole is widely spoken, along with Amerindian dialects, Hindi and Urdu. Although part of South America, the feel is more Caribbean than Latin, and the people consider themselves to be part of the Caribbean. It is on the north coast of South America and is bordered by Venezuela, Suriname and Brazil. It has a tropical climate with two rainy seasons Dec/Jan and May/June.
The main religion is Christianity and there are also many Hindus and some Muslims. The majority of the population lives on the coastal strip which lies several feet below sea level at high tide. The Atlantic is kept at bay by a sea wall running the length of the coastal strip and there are many creeks and gullies to help prevent flooding – though they are nowhere near adequate for the task and the roads often flood. For this reason all the houses are built above ground on stilts.
The coastal area was once swamp land but the Dutch settlers from the 17th Century began to reclaim the land from the water (using slave labour). Eventually the British took control of Guyana in 1781 and the country finally gained their independence from Britain in 1966. After the British left, the country was ruled by an increasingly autocratic leader who tried to implement a socialist society. He ripped up the railways, banned imports, human rights and liberties were suppressed and Guyana fell into a period of serious economic decline. As standards of living fell, migration increased dramatically and the population has been gradually declining since.
In 1992 Guyana held its first free and fair democratic elections though we have been told that subsequent Governments have been corrupt in different ways and have not put the needs of the nation ahead of their own agendas. The country is in desperate need of massive investment in many areas. There are few roads and most of the country is completely inaccessible except by air, boat or foot! Public buildings are in a state of disrepair, litter fills the streets and drainage creeks as there is no rubbish collection and no recycling, once beautiful parks and gardens are now overgrown and waterlogged, there are no leisure facilities or modern shopping malls – all shopping is done is small local stores and markets. (A cinema is planned to be built in 2013 – yay!) We were told that Georgetown was once known as the ‘Garden City’ but is now known as the ‘Garbage City’. That just about sums the place up. There is no social security system so people rely on extended family if they can’t work and there is much poverty. Even though it is classed as part of the Caribbean there are no beaches and the sea is not clear and blue! The country has one main beach which is 90 miles long, but completely inaccessible – a haven for wildlife but undeveloped as far as tourists or local visitors are concerned. Despite the general disarray and sorry state of much of the area, people are upbeat, positive and full of hope for the future.
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