THIS week, I trekked to a quaint little village way up ‘in de countryside.’ It is nestled in an almost cozy ‘nook and cranny’ quite close to the Atlantic Ocean, as some would say.

I was taken aback by its appealing picturesque appearance and just marvelled at the manner in which villagers bustled about their business, intent on getting the day’s chores done as the ticking clock signalled the onset of the darkness, when the day is done and billowing clouds, in almost religious ritual, seemingly unburden themselves and drench the village in torrential downpours.
Actually folks I was there on a media assignment of a different nature but the moment I realised the positive impact our ‘village focus campaign’ was igniting. Actually at that event it was highlighted by the chairperson that this feature in the Guyana Chronicle has now made it a must read supplement on weekends. Therefore it is only fitting that we showcase the intriguing makings of this location where smiling faces mirrored their jovial existence.

My dear readers, I was in the village of Golden Grove, located on the East Coast Demerara just over 16 miles from Georgetown, and quite popular for its bustle as the feisty and smiling residents always seem to have a chore left to complete.
This village is divided into sections named Golden Grove Housing Scheme, Centenary Street, Collins Street, Third Street, Sandy Street and a few others.
With latitude reading of 6.7000°, and longitude recordings of 58.1667°, this small village is nestled between the quieter villages of Haslington to the west and Nabaclis to the east.
Populated mostly by persons of African descent, the village has a population of about 3,000 according to some residents.

History
Golden Grove is one of a series of villages stretched like a string of beads along the narrow coastland of Guyana; all are a few feet below sea level.
In times gone by, travelling through this location one would have observed, among other things, a filling station, cinema, a coconut oil factory, and several shops and small stores along the roadway.
The majority of the population estimated at about 3,000, are descendants of former African slaves, who over 150 years ago, pooled their savings and purchased the abandoned sugar estate of Plantation Williamsburg, now renamed Golden Grove. This cooperative spirit shown by the village founders is a splendid heritage on which the present inhabitants built and made further improvements within the community.
Embracing an area of about 2,300 acres, the village is laid out in typical local fashion. The residential section is on the front lands. Many years ago, one would have seen houses built on stilts clustered on both sides of the public road and internal streets. Small farms, averaging between two and three acres in size, and many of them in scattered holdings, were found in the backlands. Like their ancestors, most of the people earned their livelihood from farming, but today things have changed, as persons have sought professions that are more acquainted with evolving modernisation.
Back in the 1850s, villagers travelled each day from their homes to their farms and back, several miles in some cases, either by boat along the canals, or else by foot over the dams. Principal crops at that time included fruits (sapodillas, mangoes and citrus), ground provisions (plantains, cassava and eddoes) and coconuts. They also had some livestock – mainly cattle – along with some swine and a few sheep.
In the olden days, the farmers of Golden Grove earned for their home village the proud title of “the granary of the East Coast of Demerara.” But today, low fertility of soil, small

farms and poor drainage, to name a few constraints, pose challenging problems to farmers.
An indication of the old, flourishing days is the fact that an Agricultural Show – said to be the first ever held in British Guiana – was staged in Golden Grove in 1894.
Two years after the purchase of Golden Grove, a survey of the newly-acquired settlement was made in 1850, and the land was divided into building lots. An area of 450 square rods was given to the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society for building a church and school, both of which still stand to this day. In 1873, another and more detailed survey was made which, no doubt, contributed to the fact that Golden Grove is fairly well laid out, including cross-roads.
It was in 1892 that Golden Grove became a village in the true sense, and a Village Council was established.
While the face of Golden Grove has changed much since those early years, links with the past, such as the Methodist Church and School for example, still remain. Another reminder of days gone by came to light recently when, on the village foreshore, some strange relics became exposed through erosion of the foreshore, where the water had eaten away the land for a depth of about seven feet. The erosion revealed about sixty square yards of solid red brick which looked like the remains of some Old Dutch building. In the black earth were seen pieces of broken plates, coins black with age, jugs, jars and demi-johns with peculiar drawings.

And so life goes on at Golden Grove amidst relics of the past and the challenging community problems of the present. The church steeple, the school, the community centre, the roadside market, the fishmonger’s cart, the stores and the provision farms – all reflect the day-to-day life of the people.
But deeper than these lies the community spirit which created Golden Grove and which today is being rekindled to foster its further development, not only of the village, but of the people who live there.
Today, the village has greatly evolved, and sports a bevy of new houses; businesses, inclusive of the New Generation Barber Shop, Central Point Snackette and Bar, Lester’s Internet Cafe and the Sumners’ Enterprises for rental of chairs, tents, tables and other items for hosting of weddings, birthday celebrations and such like activities. They can be contacted on telephone numbers 255-3133, or 687-2117.

Livelihood
Today this village has somewhat lost its grip on the old colonial aura, and with its transformation has come a change in its residents’ means of livelihood.
Many have now opened stalls at the Golden Grove Market Square, from which they peddle snack foods, vegetables, confectionaries and other items. Some of these structures are actually temporary fixtures and are normally taken down after the day’s sales, as the owners wait the next ‘customer rush hour.’
Some structures are however permanent, and would customarily be locked up late at nights after the owners retire to gather strength for the next day of sales.
That aside, some villagers have taken up teaching in and outside the village, while there has been a recent upsurge in the amount of young men converting their vehicles into taxis or hire cars that ply the ‘Road Front/President College Route.’
Many male residents are working in the interior as pork-knockers, while some unleash their masonry and construction skills, especially when a new business or house is to be built in the village or in its environs.

Employment
The village is rapidly increasing in its population and with it comes the increase in the number of youths that are unemployed. And it appears that amongst them are several who have acquired great grades at the CSEC Examinations and are still trying to find proper employment.
Speaking on this issue was the young Oslen Michael Shepherd, who possesses seven CSEC subjects with great grades, but cannot seem to find useful employment. “Golden Grove is definitely in the grip of a vice-like employment problem, and this is evident in the amount of youths one can find liming by the street corners in the afternoons. There is not

much to be done here as the village population increases, and it’s extremely difficult for even qualified persons to find jobs, since the few loopholes for meaningful employment have already been filled. This results in many persons sitting around without jobs, and hoping for a positive change.
“Even if a qualified person tries to get employment elsewhere, they are then faced with the problems of finding accommodation, and the out-of-town addresses on applications most times leave them at a disadvantage, since employers prefer those that reside in the city,” he said.
Shepherd is of the view that erection in the village of an industrial facility of some sort would reasonably solve this problem, since it would provide ready work for villagers.

Entertainment

Golden Grove residents have learnt to come to grips with their not-so-sophisticated entertainment calendar, and a few ‘rollicking hotspots’ have sprung up there not so long ago.
Every weekend (starting from Friday), droves of villagers will converge by the Market Square for wild revelling as ‘Mason,’ who owns the Kyle and Vickie’s Fish Shop, will set up for the weekend fiesta.
This will involve loud music from popular one-man bands, and of course the Determine Sound System, owned by Eon Havercone a/ka ‘Father Moey’ will feature.
On Tuesday nights also, villagers will gather at this same location for karaoke sessions, or just to listen to their favourite hits as they enjoy delicious fish and chips, black pudding, and other snacks that have become ‘must haves’ on their agenda of tasting craves.
In times gone by, the village would gather for massive emancipation celebrations in August month each year, but with the death of a female villager who customarily would have spearheaded such activities, this feature has dwindled, except for a very small ceremony which is hosted at the Golden Grove/Nabaclis Community Centre Ground to acknowledge the annual celebrations.
That aside, villagers go for recreation at their own pace at the lone Nightclub in the village called ‘Diamond Ice.’

Reminiscing on the olden days
If this village has lost most of its traditional touches, it still holds fast to the rich harmony and deep connections shared among residents.
Today there are smiling faces everywhere, despite challenges they face; and jovial laughter and merry spirits abound in every ‘nook and cranny’ as villagers bask in the glory of rich camaraderie.
And to share the tale of how this was passed down from generation to generation, village elder, 76-year-old Jane Rita Persaud, a merry soul with the twinkle of girlish fire still in her eyes, declared: “Boy, I might look bright and peppy today because of the rich life I enjoyed here in my girlhood days, filled with the love and affection of my children, other relatives and my lovely neighbours.

“In my time as a girl, Golden Grove was a simple village with lots of bushes and not so many houses or businesses. We had no electricity back then, and the streets were really bad during the rainy season. I can remember how we slipped and fell into the mud as we tried to go to school, but even that, too, was fun, because for many it meant that they would be allowed to stay at home on account of their soiled clothing.”
“Many yards flooded during rainy season; and oh, how we welcomed the warm sunshine! When the weather was good, I can still remember how we hurried to fetch water from a roadside stand pipe, and tried not to get into fights or quarrels with the village bullies.”
“I can remember the little children coming around to sell tomatoes and bora on trays, and the fishermen bring fresh fish and shrimp to our doors. Oh! That was really good times, and things were really cheap then”.
Mrs. Persaud relished how the men would come around selling the ‘coconut banga’ which was much needed to light the coal pot fires or firesides, whichever a family used to cook their meals on. “In those days, the milk man would come around ringing a bell to announce his arrival, and mothers rushed to the door with their mugs and sent their children scurrying in all directions to find the relative utensils.”
While she was in high praise of the intervention of the paved President’s College road and many side streets, she reminisced on the era when they would move from village to village on donkey-or horse-drawn carts, and even on bicycles, before the dawn of hire cars and mini-buses.
Those were the days when vegetables were kept for a week and over by being sprinkled with cold water or covering with a damp towel (soaked at intervals), and according to Mrs. Persaud, the vegetables rarely rotted because they were not grown with artificial fertilisers.

President’s College
President’s College is a senior secondary school, heralded as ‘A School of Excellence’ located in the village. Students can enter the school through the National Grade Six Assessment, and the lower sixth form in the academic performance of the student at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC).
President’s College, opened in 1985 and was the brainchild of the late President Forbes Burnham, who launched the project in 1983 but died before the school was opened.
Students used to be selected from the top two percent of candidates in the Secondary Schools Entrance Examination (SSEE) and were subjected to an evaluation process, including interviews with school personnel. Now preference is given to those students from more remote areas. The school allows students to attend without being residential, thereby functioning as a boarding and a day school.

On April 26, 2004, a large fire destroyed the boy’s dormitory, resulting in damage worth between $45 million and $100 million in property damage, but no injuries or fatalities resulted.
As a result of the fire, more than 100 students had to find alternative housing, many off-campus. Reconstruction was started a year later, but was delayed due to the floods of 2005. In June 2006, the Ministry of Education announced a new plan for rebuilding the dormitory, and blamed the then contractor for the delays.
In November 2010, President’s College participated in the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission’s Science and Technology Quiz, competing among fifteen other schools nationwide. Members of the team representing the institution included Kevin Garbaran, Sheena McLean, Randol Schwiers and Sheena Chin. They emerged as the winners of the competition, with the team winning full scholarships to the University of Guyana.
The students with the most accumulated points for the entire competition were Kevin Garbaran and Randol Schwiers from PC. The Quiz was aired for television during November-December of that year.
As history dictates, President’s College was the brainchild of founder leader President L.F.S Burnham. Through its conception, completion, inauguration and evolution, the golden thread and key thing to remember about its origins is that the President’s College was built by the people of Guyana, for the people of Guyana.
The idea of living on past achievements bothered President Burnham. He was keen on extending the horizon of expectations of what Guyana could achieve as a nation beginning with our educational aspirations.
The definitive year for the College was 1983. On February 22, 1983 the concept and its rationale were enunciated as a part of a broad national ambition. “We cannot live on our past achievements” President Burnham said in an address to the nation. “The momentum has to be kept up and there are new circumstances which have to be grappled with and new challenges which have to be met. There are new victories which have to be won…” The new circumstances, new challenges and new victories President Burnham recognized, probably concerned the need to move Guyana to the next level.
Once the College was conceived and announced, it appears that things began to move very quickly. On Wednesday, August 3, 1983, local architect George Henry Associates unveiled a model of President’s College and by August of 1983 President Burnham unveiled a plaque commemorating the College at a simple ceremony.
Construction was to be accomplished in five phases with completion slated for 1986 and expected to cost well over $55M. Phase 1 included dormitory accommodation for 72 students, teachers, some parents, medex, nurses, security officers and other staff. It also includes an auditorium, library, infirmary, kitchen and dining hall. A single teaching block was also included in Phase 1 with nine classrooms, four of which are specially designed and equipped for industrial arts, home economics, integrated science and technical drawing. Second Phase 2 was also started and included the establishment of rice, vegetable and provision farms, administrative building and an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

The farm was successfully completed but the swimming pool was never done.
The President’s College Fund was also launched in 1983 with a $250,000 donation from the Peoples National Congress as a 60th birthday gift to President Burnham. Plans were expanded to include an endowment scheme to boost the Fund.
During late 1983 and early 1984 the contributions continued to trickle in. Among the published contributions, was a $50,000 donated by the Community of Indian Nationals in Guyana made on Friday April 27 which represented the first part of a $100,000 commitment by the organisation. On Friday June 23 corporate donations were publicly made to the College Fund by JP Santos, British American Insurance Company, Chase Manhattan Bank.
On May 7 the National Parks Commission began to clear the undergrowth on site for the College, a 200-acre plot of land at two miles behind the village of Golden Grove. This was part of the plan is to increase the acreage of the College to between 750 – 1000 acres as necessary.
During August, 1984, construction work began on the site. Many people from the surrounding villages and other areas willingly did self-help work on the construction site. Many more people were bused in to the site daily to perform voluntary civic duty by working on the site. It was a massive cooperative enterprise. Women and men turned up in droves to clear brush and do all kinds of manual labour President Burnham visited the site several times each week. He lived at Cove and John so it was a stop on the way for him travelling to and from home. There was more fundraising on Friday, August 24 a gala dinner and show was held in aid of the President’s College Fund. More specifically, on Friday December 14 was designated as ‘Donations Day’ for the President’s College. Donations were made at a special function at the public buildings. Donations for that day amounted to about $4.9 million.
By early 1985 construction was proceeding at a hectic pace and student selection had commenced in earnest. On Thursday March 28, it was reported in the local newspapers that at a two-hour meeting in East La Penitence and Tucville Housing Scheme areas, the Minister of State within the Ministry of Education told hundreds of teachers and parents that it was not compulsory for children to accept entry to the President’s College but he advised that it would be in the best interest of the child to take advantage of the high standard of education that will be offered there. In answer to a question from a parent, the Minister said that Guyana was not training personnel for other countries but for the achievement of our national goals.
On Saturday June 1, Minister of Education, Malcolm Parris addressed a group of education officials in Berbice and told them that the College will be a science oriented institution where children of the highest caliber will be educated to serve Guyana. He explained that students will be selected from the Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (SSEE) and that students will have to maintain an 85% academic average of performance for each school term and that much emphasis will be placed on developing them into young people with rounded personalities. He stressed that the College will be an institution for children with exceptional ability who are prepared to serve Guyana and that the students will be provided with everything – uniforms, meals and accommodation on campus and that guidance and counseling services will also be provided at the College and that the students will be involved in every activity that other schools participate in. He also explained that the College will be governed by a Board comprising representative of the University of Guyana, the Ministry of Education, the Teachers’ Training College and the Guyana teacher’ Union.
On Wednesday July 10, Education Minister Malcolm Parris met with SSEE students (and parents) from 18 schools at the New Amsterdam Town Hall, Berbice at which he announced that Deputy Chief Education Officer Oswald Kendall, a curriculum specialist has been appointed the first principal at the President’s College for a period of two years. He also said that the College is an important part of the plan to provide children with the best facilities for study. He described it as an “investment”. He also said that at the beginning students will be permitted statutory fortnightly visits to their homes since for some it will be their first experience away from home.
On Thursday July 17, one hundred prospective students were invited to the College to complete interviews and a written examination. The plan at that stage was for 60 students to be selected from the 100 to qualify for the first term entry into the College. The College later decided to accept 72 students for initial entry.

This very Thursday was the day that President Burnham delivered his only speech to prospective President’s College students and teachers. It was a surprising full length speech. It was a surprise because President Burnham was asked by the parents to say something even though he was not expected to speak because of a throat problem. Among many other things he told us that President’s College is an “exercise in catching up.” He gave a very detailed outline of his expectations of the College and its students and said that it is intended to be a “school of excellence”, and made his famous statement that “if I leave nothing behind me but the President’s College, I will feel in my conceit that I have contributed to the building of a monument more lasting than bronze.”
He told students that by the end of the century we will be 20 years old and in a position to help steer Guyana to be in line with the developing world. He said: “This will be the best school in the English-speaking Caribbean. This is the school that nowhere in the English speaking Caribbean has been thought of…but you comrades have to work hard to maintain it… this school does not intend to produce hustlers…we are spending millions of dollars of taxpayers money not to develop selfish persons but to develop brilliant people who feel that the development of the country is their duty.”
In his address he also spoke directly to the teachers about their expected role, he said “Teaching at the President’s College is not a job hunting exercise. The salaries I can tell you are going to be better than you will find elsewhere in the teaching profession but the salaries will hardly compensate for the extra duties you will have to undertake….You see this President’s College is a serious business; we have no time for mere careerists. We’ve got to get a number of people who are going to guide the cream of our youth, our leaders of the 21st century and who have got to help to mould a different Guyana from the one which we have inherited. Working at the President’s College in whichever capacity you happen to work will have to be a vocation and not a mere profession or location or employment.”
It was Thursday Aug 1 at the Plaque Unveiling Ceremony that he made more definitive statements about his vision for the College and its status.

Challenges
Every village has its setbacks and Golden Grove is no exception.
We interacted with several residents along the Market Road, and were informed that amongst the challenges faced was an increasingly high rate in teenage pregnancy. Other issues of great concern to villagers was the lacklustre manner in which the NDC body was maintaining irrigation drains and trenches in the village. This, they claimed, caused instant flooding in the rainy seasons.
Youths standing by the roadside indicated that the level of work done by the NDC in this respect is unacceptable and not satisfactory.
That aside, villagers are begging for a boost in their sports sector, since there are many talented and sports-oriented youths residing at Golden Grove.
Presently, there is vibrant football sessions ongoing there, and this practice is spearheaded by village sportsman Andrew Walcott. The training in this sport is made available to youths between the ages of 15 and 20. However, according to Walcott, it would be a welcome relief if football gear and clothing can be donated to these youths who are unable to access same because of financial constraints.
Some are calling for repairs to the Golden Grove Secondary School, which they claim badly needs a facelift. Students from that school informed that their washrooms are in a deplorable condition, and that the water coming from the taps is at times unfit for drinking.
Science students at that institution, who requested to remain anonymous, related that their science laboratory is in a bad condition, which is certainly not conducive to effective learning.
(Next week we feature Supenaam)

Conclusion
Come join in the joys and abundant love of this village. Come bask in the glory of the rich laughter of its inhabitants. Come folks, get lost in the bustle of the residents, or join them by the roadside for humorous ‘countryside gaff’.
Whatever you do, do not hesitate to visit Golden Grove, where the sun shines in its brightest glory as residents make the best of their simplest of existence.

(By Alex Wayne)