– an event they won’t forget in a hurry
MANY Buxtonians are reportedly still euphoric about being invited by the President to dine with him on Thursday night at State House where he resides as part of their 170th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the East Coast Demerara village, and according to Mr. Lennox Mboya Wood, events organizer, the gesture has been well received by villagers. Wood, who was born and raised in Buxton but now lives abroad, said for one thing, some were meeting with the President for the very first time, and the opportunity of doing so at State House was more than they bargained for.
He said that besides having the opportunity of meeting face-to-face and exchanging pleasantries with the President, many of his fellow villagers were able to raise with him their concerns about what’s happening in the village, and the need for more input from Central government.
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The camaraderie is self-evident as President Jagdeo bonds briefly with an overseas-based Buxtonian who came home for Emancipation celebrations and President of the Buxton Anniversary Celebrations Planning Committee, Mr. Mboya Wood. |
Wood said many saw the reception as “a positive step forward” towards a healing in the rift between the people of Buxton and the government, and that among those in attendance were not just your regular villagers, but members of the local and overseas organizers of the anniversary celebrations, village leaders and elders, and members of the Committee for the reconstruction of Tipperary Hall.
Wood, whose official designation is President of the 170th Anniversary Celebrations for the Purchase of Buxton Committee, said the programme of activities was planned around the remembrance of the purchase of the village by 141 ex-slaves in 1838 just after they were emancipated.
He said it is only fitting that the sacrifice of the ex-slaves should not be forgotten, and as such their story should not only be shared with the young people of the community, but with all Guyana so they could see Buxton in a different light, more particularly as being a resilient and strong people.
Wood said that besides the observance of Emancipation, the village also hosted an Economic Summit to which Presidential Adviser on Community Development, Mr. Odinga Lumumba, who himself was born and raised in Buxton, was invited.
The objective of the latter event, Wood said, was to flesh out innovative ways of returning Buxton to its former glory, and making it economically prosperous by using cash incentives to encourage small farmers to return to the land, and bringing out the entrepreneur in others by helping them invest in small businesses projects.
Wood said their intention is to instill in villagers how small businesses can be maintained and sustained over a long period, whereby the end-result would be economic growth.
He said all the events that were held to date were well received and well attended, among them an Emancipation Ball at the Georgetown Club on Camp Street here in the city which saw in attendance the Prime Minister, Mr. Samuel Hinds, who spoke briefly, and several other government officials.
Wood said though he migrated to the United States since 1988, he comes home regularly, as in every year, since he still has relatives living here in Buxton.
He said the New York chapter of their organization has nine members, while the local chapter, called the Buxton Response Committee and based in the village, has 11.
The committee he heads, he said, was formed to organize and execute all activities related to the village’s 170th anniversary celebrations, and that the Tipperary Hall project, which the government has promised to help fund, is moving apace.
He said that Buxton and the GOG are working in collaboration to better the community, and as such a committee organized by the group will be meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud on Monday to discuss agricultural development, drainage and irrigation in the village.