-after close to 50 years
QUOTE: ‘I went to Orealla, and I went up the Demerara River, and ever since I did this I’ve always wanted to come back. And I knew that I needed to do it quite soon…’ QUOTE: ‘I think it is a lovely place; I’ve always wanted to come back. When I first came here, I ate labba and I drank creek water, and I was told by the Amerindians then, that if you do these two things, you will come back…’

FULFILLING a promise to himself to return to the land that charted the course of the rest of his life, former British volunteer, Reverend Peter Evans, is back here to experience yet again the beauty and mystique of Guyana.

Almost fifty years on and still enthralled with the sights, sounds and hospitality of Guyana and its people, the good Reverend has brought his son, Christopher, along with him so that he, too, can see for himself what beauty abounds in this Land of Many Waters.

Former United Kingdom VSO, Reverend Peter Evans, and his son, Christopher. (Photo by Sonell Nelson)

Sitting down with the Sunday Chronicle recently, it was near impossible not to notice the delight and wonderment in his captivating blue eyes as he spoke of his stint here as a volunteer teacher back in 1960.

He exclaimed in astonishment at the many changes the years have wrought on Guyana, although he acknowledged that with the passage of time, it was only natural that change would occur.

Noting that when he was last here, there was only one set of traffic lights, he said with a wicked chuckle that he’d passed his drivers’ test here. Reverend Evans also pointed to the difference in the country’s infrastructure, which has vastly improved from his time here when most of the roads in some areas were of red loam.

“The country has changed in the sense of every other capital in the world: It’s much busier; there are huge problems like drugs etcetera, but the people are still as lovely as they were then, which is quite unique,” he said.

Recalling his year of teaching at the St Gabriel’s Primary school, he remarked that in those days, things were very different, in that it was a private school that catered for the needs of the expatriates, several of whom were on staff there when the school was organised and run by the Anglican Church.

He expressed amazement that the uniform is still the same as when he taught there. But teaching was not all that the good Reverend did; he did take time off to visit quite a number of outlying villages, and several other places outside of the capital.

“I went to Orealla, and I went up the Demerara River, and ever since I did this I’ve always wanted to come back. And I knew that I needed to do it quite soon, cause I’m now 68. Otherwise, I would never really do it.

“And I wanted to bring my son with me, to show him some of the places that I’ve seen, and to meet some of the people here, because I think this place is quite unique.

“I think it is a lovely place; I’ve always wanted to come back. When I first came here, I ate labba and I drank creek water, and I was told by the Amerindians then, that if you do these two things, you will come back. And here I am,” the Reverend said with a delighted chuckle and a discernable air of wonder.

Armed with ten photographs taken during that visit, Reverend Evans and his son took off for the village two Thursdays ago.

The Reverend expressed to the Sunday Chronicle, too, that he has always wanted to visit the renowned Kaieteur Falls, and last week, he and his son took the overland route and were not disappointed when they finally beheld the majesty of one of Guyana’s most breathtaking attractions.

Expanding a little more on what he had initially taken time off from continuing his studies in the UK to do, the Reverend told us that he was one of the first volunteers to come to Guyana under the Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) scheme, and was lodged in the dorm of Queen’s College.

Remarking that before arriving in Guyana again, he had wondered if the country had lost any of its friendliness, Reverend Evans observed, with a delighted chuckle, that is has not.

“I’ve been back to the school; I stood in the classroom where I taught, so it’s a really lovely experience for me,” he said.

The Reverend was however not a trained teacher, and had no qualifications in that field when he arrived here, coming fresh out of high school to volunteer to teach the locals. He was 18 years old at the time.

He remarked that while nowadays, VSOs do have some professional qualifications to offer, that it was a very different situation in his time, and that this was long before there ever was an American Peace Corp.

“The American Peace Corp, at the time with Robert Kennedy, were very interested in what was happening in VSO, and while I was here, a reporter came from Caracas, Venezuela to film the work of VSOs in Guyana and that film was sent out over American television,” the Reverend Evans told the Sunday Chronicle.

After his stint in Guyana, he went back home to England to study at the university there, after which he became a clergyman, and is now a Church of England Minister.

Reverend Evans credits the teaching experience he gained in Guyana with charting the path he took in his life as a Man of the Cloth. “I was going to do Bio-chemistry,” he said, “but seeing something different changed my life.”

Not about to let the Reverend bask alone in the wonder of Guyana, son, Christopher, told of how his experience measures up to the countless stories his father told him when he was younger, of his wondrous trip to beautiful Guyana.

Himself a well-travelled buyer for various supermarkets back in England, Christopher said it was quite interesting listening to his dad over the last few months and then getting here and finding the experiencing to be actually real.

He, too, expressed pleasure at the warmth of the Guyanese people, describing their visit to Kaieteur Falls as a lovely experience, and expressing amazement at the vast knowledge and maturity shown by their tour guide, a lad of just 19, during that trip, and comparing it to 19 year-olds from his part of the world.

The younger man also spoke of his pleasure at viewing several of the historical buildings in and out of the city, proclaiming on their beauty.

He, too, pointed to the good infrastructure in Guyana, remarking on the benefits to be derived from good roads in any country, one of which can most likely lead to increased exports, which he explained very passionately to Sunday Chronicle.

VSO is a United Kingdom-based charity with over forty years of experience in international volunteering.

This system of skills sharing has evolved since 2001 with volunteers being posted to forty countries now with some two thousand volunteers serving overseas at any one time, and another thirty thousand returned volunteers from all walks of life in many countries of the world.

Today professionals willing to volunteer their services overseas are being recruited from developing countries as far as Kenya, Uganda, India and the Philippines. This system of recruitment is much different from what obtained back in the day when they were only sought from the developed countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands.

A dynamic organization, its contribution and focus has evolved in consonance with the changing development environment and since the mid 1990’s has set out its vision in a series of strategic plans.

The first focuses on investing in people while the second concentrated on increasing the impact of VSOs throughout the world.

One of the primary goals of VSO is that of developing a stronger focus on working with disadvantaged people, being well equipped “to respond flexibly to changing circumstance and opportunities”.

One of the organisation’s most recent strategic plan “Focus for Change” sets out the six development goals through which it hopes to help fight global poverty and help the disadvantage.

This is being achieved in the areas of – Education, HIV/AIDS, Disability, Health and Social Well Being, Secure Livelihoods and Participation and Governance.

It must be noted that these goals reflect the intent of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which are described as “a compact among nations to help end human poverty.”

VSO goals provide the framework within which individual countries prioritise those that are most relevant to local needs and are used to create individual strategic plans.