For Eric- 2

Later, on a walk- we interrupted a vulture which had flown down onto the road to inspect a dead rat.

The bird retired to a nearby tree, then took off with a slow powerful beat of its wings.

For Eric- thanks for the binoculars!

When I visited the Maruca area, the unspoilt, undeveloped landscape meant that wildlife was easier to see. It was principally a matter of settling somewhere and sitting still for long enough.

Those of us living in Georgetown know we cannot take out our cameras in public- we would immediately be a target.
However, when in the remote, poorer regions, theft of personal high tech. equipment seems unheard of.
Luckily, Tessa, placed in Region 1- the remote northern region- in an Amerindian village, has a high specification camera and was able to take some great pictures.

A yellow billed toucan- in the tree outside Tessa's front door

Orphanages

Last Saturday, invited by a fellow VSO volunteer, attached to the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sport (fun and games), I went along to help at an Activity Day held at the Ministry's sport's ground. The guests were 150 children with an age range from toddlers to late teens, the majority in the 7-17 grouping, all from two of the town's orphanages.
I arrived in time to help distribute lunches, prepared from scratch (all catering here is prepared from fresh ingredients) by a small army of women in the kitchen behind the bar. The children tucked into fried chicken, cook- up rice and chow mein, served in individual styrofoam containers.
During the day  the organisers, helped by a number of older pupils on the President's Young Volunteers scheme ( a sort of Duke of Edinburgh/Community Service award) from some of the prestigious Georgetown high schools supervised  a cricket match, tug of war, races and a dance competition.

I did recognise and talk with some of the children as I have seen them in classrooms in the special schools I go into.

An impromptu Tug of War- the podium for the dance contest is in the foreground.

Seeing such a crowd of children, all orphans and vulnerable young people, prompted me to find out more. I had previously been made aware of pupils coming to school from a "shelter" or a "home", but my experience on this day moved me to ask and find out more.

Internet research gave some facts- but also a lack of the sorts of lists and registry we would expect in the UK. One charity website listed 26 orphanages for Guyana, each name indicating support from one of the country's main religions: Christian denominations, Hindu and Muslim; as well as international charities- the Red Cross and Leonard Cheshire homes for example. 

There was no such list from a government website, although it is clear the government have been working with UNICEF, the World Bank and others to meet needs of an estimated 30,000 orphans out of an under 18's population of 269,000- about 11% of all children. 

The reasons for this state of affairs are sadly all too familiar: poverty, HIV and AIDS (Guyana has the second highest incidence in the Caribbean after Haiti), violence, alcohol and other drug abuse, and internal and external migration of adults seeking work (there are more Guyanese in the cities of Toronto and New York combined than there are in Guyana).

Guyana's government has in place an active HIV and AIDS prevention and de-stigmatising programme. The government is working to regularise operating standards within homes, to support families and communities' capacities to look after orphans and vulnerable children.

And in answer to my question to myself- What to do?- I have consciously changed my assumptions of pupils' experiences out of school (which were very UK based), and tried to adjust how I approach both pupils and teachers when in the classroom.

Among my VSO friends, we have talked about our shared experiences in this area, and as one of our number already works with the Red Cross orphanage, we have already made initial enquiries about offering our services during the Christmas period, particularly on Christmas Day. 

Watch this blog for up dates- and information on how we - and may be you?- may help.

Gardeners' World- the fruit garden-part 5

This tree is not in our garden, but a neighbouring one.
Coconuts trees are everywhere.
And so are coconut vendors. You can buy a fresh coconut from a street stall, where the vendor, equipped with a machete, will either cut off a small piece at the top, and give you a straw to drink the fresh liquid, or will cut up the coconut to take home.

Gardeners' World- the fruit garden-part 4

Here is another fruit I had never heard of before coming to Guyana.

The sapadilla looks like a round version of a kiwi fruit. After cutting the fruit in half, you find a soft brown flesh, which is gritty and tastes of honey, and is scooped out using a teaspoon. It has a couple of elongated smallish black stones. I think it tastes lovely.
We are currently "in" the sapadilla season.

Gardeners' World- the fruit garden-part 3

Similarly, the banana tree is sheltering its crop beneath the shade of its big leaves.

In England we only ever see the larger bananas-which I understand all derive from one original plant.
In Guyana, I have seen a number of varieties on sale: small fruits, with each banana the length of a finger- and bunches looking like "hands", named as Custard bananas, Apple bananas, Pineapple bananas; and some larger varieties too.

Bananas in Guyana are always ripe when you buy, and last only a day or two before becoming over-ripe, soft and black skinned. They are beautifully sweet to eat.

Gardeners' World- the fruit garden-part 2

To eat a ripe mango straight from the tree is truly a treat, and best done among friends, as it is impossible to remove the juicy flesh from the skin and the stone in any sort of tidy way.

These mangoes are ripening. Occasionally one will turn yellow, indicating it is ready to pick. The mango tree is huge- growing as high as the two storey house. Our landlady- being of advanced years- employs a gardener, who will be able to harvest the ripened mangoes from the higher branches.

Gardeners' World- the fruit garden

Yesterday, after three days of dark clouds and rain- heralding the start of the rainy season, Saturday dawned with a return to warm sunshine and blue skies.
Responding to this, my circle of VSO volunteer friends and I became very English and talked about the weather! We appreciated the brightness, the opportunity to dry laundry and importantly for this posting, I took more notice of the delights of the garden I share with the other tenants here.

Enjoying fruits in season, picked when fresh, is one of life's pleasures in Guyana. In the markets there is always an abundance of fruit for sale, mostly local, but with imported produce too.
If any acquaintance at work has fruit trees in their garden, ripened fruits are brought in by the bagful to share and enjoy. So far mangoes and gnips have been office treats.

The following photographs will give a virtual tour of the fruit trees in our garden.

A gnip- for Nichola Budd

Gnips- (any botanist may be able to supply the Latin name?) grow in clusters. The fruit is small- about the size of a golf ball, and the skin is pierced by running the thumb nail around the circumference and squeezing out the soft flesh within. Actually, there is only a small surface of soft peach coloured smooth flesh to eat, surrounding a very large stone, which you spit out into a conveniently placed bin! The gnip season is now almost finished.

The land of many rivers part 5

As we went to Maruca on the Friday, we saw school pupils on their way home at the end of the day.
Across Guyana, each school has a distinct and formal school uniform. The government provides for one uniform, per child per school year, for free. There is also a free "hot meal" programme- to encourage attendance.

In this region, the way to travel to and from school is by boat.

Here, the school "bus" has become lodged on the sandy bank, due to pilot error. Children wade in to the river to help out.
Once free, the boat loads up and is on its way.

At the same landing, two boys paddled up in the family dug out boat, to collect their "auntie" from school. One boy is using his paddle to try and scoop water out of the boat, while the other was busy trying to retrieve his collection of plastic bottle lids. Their aunt was not impressed.
Every family along the river seemed to own one of these traditional boats. They would be used to take a passenger from home to a "stop" to pick up the speedboat.

The land of many rivers part 4

In one weekend, only superficial impressions can be gained.
The village has one tarmac road, leading from the landing straight through and out into the countryside.
All other "roads" and paths were red clay, some with wooden raised walkways for the rainy season.
Along the single road there were small open shops and stalls, plus a few bars or "Rum" shops, populated by males only.
The shops had a fair selection of vegetables, but little fruit, a limited range of dry goods, drinks and household items.
Everything was a little more expensive than Georgetown, because of the cost of transporting.

There was little evidence of paid work, other than basic services.
Many younger men work away in the mines; Guyana has gold and silver reserves: older men draw a pension. The majority of children grow up with their mother, and possibly other women in the extended family.

The village had an electricity supply, from its own generator, for set hours each day.

Water supplies came from outdoor taps near to homes. Rainwater is collected and channelled into tanks.
Water is brought into the home by buckets, and boiled then filtered if used for drinking and food preparation.

At Tessa's we collected our water each morning and were careful about usage and recycling "grey" water.

This was one of the experiences which made us thoughtful and grateful for home comforts.

The land of many rivers part 3

As we reached the mouth of the river, the boat swung out into the Atlantic ocean, which happily was quite calm.
The coastline was densely forested and low lying.

Suddenly, without warning, we again turned starboard and entered a narrow river inlet surrounded by mangroves, with the tall trees towering over creating a cave-like impression.

On this part of the river, the roar of the boat's outboard engine seemed to echo in the quiet of the forest.

As the mangroves thinned out, giving way to savannah, we saw occasional single homes and landings, among grasslands, coconut trees and shrubs.

Finally, we arrived at the village of Maruca in the Kumaka district.

We were met by Tessa, another VSO volunteer,working in the schools in this area.
As Tessa's flatmate was away for the weekend- and she has a hammock strung across her living area, there was sleeping accommodation for us in her flat in the teachers' quarters.

Here we spent an extremely quiet and peaceful weekend, buying food to cook (no fridge for storage), lolling in hammocks, reading and gossiping and strolling around the village.

The land of many rivers part 2

The journey continued.

Settlement on the Pomeroon- with the washing drying along the landing.

We travelled in speed boats similar to this one. Boats leave when they are full.
People's shopping and goods for market or wedged in under the seats.

This part of the journey, totalling about one and a half hours, fell into three distinct parts.

Firstly the boat called at various landings, some serving small settlements, others belonging to individual properties, as it made its way down the wide Pomeroon estuary.

The land of many rivers

The majority of the Guyanese people live in the capital Georgetown and its immediate outlying villages.

Last weekend fellow VSO volunteer Carol and I left the capital and made our way to one of the less populated areas in the north. 

In this area, one of the original tribes of Guyana, the Arawak amerindians live.

The region is remote, sparsely populated, has little infrastructure and is much poorer than Georgetown.

As we journeyed away from the capital, the signs of bustling life decreased and the scenery became rural.

We passes coconut plantations and rice fields.

After leaving the bus in Parika, we then  boarded the first ferry to cross the estuary of the Essiquibo river. Here the wide river is dotted with small islands, and it took our speed boat 25 minutes to make the crossing.

The sky was cloudy, the river choppy and as the small boat bounced along we had to cover ourselves with the tarpaulins provided.

Glamour had long been abandoned - as the second photograph testifies.

Charity- small port on the Pomeroon river- passengers disembarking from a speed boat.
On the left, a lorry loads up with coconuts to take to Georgetown.
From here, people rely on the boats to deliver goods.

First boat crossing-the woman sitting next to me is covering her 6 month old son to keep him dry!

We arrived at Supernaam, where the next challenge was to negotiate a shared taxi to take us to Charity, one hour's drive away.

(The names of the settlements reflect the history of Guyana's colonial occupations and hopes after emancipation)

As intrepid explorers of the world will know, when such arrangements operate, travellers have to trust to instinct. After being passed like parcels between a total of three taxis, we reached our next staging, where we were to meet Troy, the boatman, who had reserved our places on the boat to Maruca.

Cooking roti

Roti is cooked on a flat pan- like a griddle-or girdle-or skillet.
The base is lightly oiled- cooking is quick.

Cecilia turns the roti-by hand. Note the pressure cooker on the hob-  great for cooking pulses.

As the Roti is cooked it is folded into a triangle, then lifted on to a clean cloth to cool

More roti

Several types of roti- resting and awaiting final cooking

The process continues.

The dough is gathered into a cone- it will the be rolled into a ball to rest

Roti- the Guyanese speciality

Cooking traditions across the world, based on peasant or working class cultures, always have favourite comfort foods based on cheap, easily available items which are transformed through complicated procedures into something delicious, satisfying and filling. Roti is the Guyanese manifestation.

The main ingredient is flour- plain flour with a raising agent. Water is then added, maybe some mashed potato, the some seasoning. Then oil is worked in and with careful rolling, shaping, resting, then reshaping the roti is ready for cooking.

Lots of practice seems to be the key to the successful roti.

After rolling out the fliur based pancake, it is dotted with oil, cut from  the centre to the edge  (along the radius) then rolled around this radius to form a cone.

Roti- the Guyanese speciality

Cooking traditions across the world, based on peasant or working class cultures, always have favourite comfort foods based on cheap, easily available items which are transformed through complicated procedures into something delicious, satisfying and filling. Roti is the Guyanese manifestation.

The main ingredient is flour- plain flour with a raising agent. Water is then added, maybe some mashed potato, the some seasoning. Then oil is worked in and with careful rolling, shaping, resting, then reshaping the roti is ready for cooking.

Lots of practice seems to be the key to the successful roti.

After rolling out the fliur based pancake, it is dotted with oil, cut from  the centre to the edge  (along the radius) then rolled around this radius to form a cone.

Food, glorious food.

Given that Georgetown has an abundance of fresh fruits, vegetables, staple dry produce, fresh fish, chicken, meat and eggs;
and that because the heat and high humidity puts a strain on the body system;
going without water-but also going without food for any period of time is just not an option.

All the volunteers have experienced regular craving s not just for salt, but also sugary snacks, presumably to replace minerals that are sweated out.

For most people in Georgetown, and certainly for the walking or cycling VSO volunteers, shopping features in the daily routine.

street market- Borda

Fresh fruit and vegetables are best bought at one of the several street and covered markets around the town. Large  fruits are sold individually, for example pineapples and melons. Everything else is sold by the pound, with items weighed on old style balance scales. Eggs are sold by weight in multiples of four, in little plastic bags, requiring careful carrying. During this week I have bought onions, garlic, ginger, potato, sweet potato, carrots (imported), tomatoes, aubergines, sweet peppers, pumpkin and fresh thyme seasoning. Fruit is a favourite offering to take when going to someone else's to eat- for example last Friday guests at a volunteer's leaving party were asked to bring fruit for the rum punch! Recently I have bought bananas-  small, so that a "hand" really is the size of a hand,- pineapple, mango, sapadilla, gnips, and some (imported) grapes.

I have not tackled the meat and fish counters. Fresh chicken really is fresh- the hens and cockerels may be caged underneath the counter awaiting a customer. Meat and fish have been killed, but are in an unprocessed state, and are prepared for your kitchen after you have purchased. I made the decision when I arrived to eat vegetarian at home, but order meat and fish when out.

While dry goods, cleaning materials and the like are also on sale in the markets, there are several supermarket chains operating and offering surprisingly extensive ranges. Nigel's- my nearest supermarket- also offers a Customer Loyalty Card scheme- seems almost worth it for the card alone!.
Georgetown supermarkets are small, densely packed and employ many staff. Someone will open the door for you. Another will take and store any shopping from other places. There are plenty of floor staff who will take you to the exact place if you ask for a particular item. When you get to the check out, your basket items are placed onto the conveyor belt for you and as you take your turn to pay, someone else will pack the shopping into your bags. Finally, the exit door is swung open and as you leave, you realise you  have said "Good afternoon" and exchanged pleasantries with may be half a dozen people you don't know in addition to any friends you bumped into- Georgetown being a very small place.
Bulk dried goods:- rice, beans, lentils, flour-are packed into simple plastic bags of various sizes with paper stick on labels. Among the unfamiliar labels of processed foods and goods there are a few recognisable ones, provoking those Peter Kay moments, when you see Hellmann's mayonnaise, Cadbury's chocolate and Lever Brothers laundry products. Great quantities of  custard powder, waiting to be made into a milk based dessert, in a country with no dairy cows, serve as a relic of Guyana's colonial past.

To sample some true Guyanese cooking, VSO volunteers are offered a "Curry and Roti" session with Cecilia, who also rents properties to VSO.
One Sunday afternoon, I was one of four who had the privilege of watching while Cecilia prepared beef and potato curry, rice and beans cook up and four types of roti. After paying for the ingredients and her time, we could then take away the meal and eat it.

In Cecilia's kitchen- with the finished curry and roti.

The meal was delicious- and we all had a "carry out" to take away for the next day.