GUYANA has seen the establishment of three towns in less than a year, and three more areas have been earmarked for township status.These developments have been most welcome by residents within these locales, as it gives them greater autonomy to manage their affairs.

The locales which have been accorded township status are Mabaruma in Region One; Bartica in Region Seven; and Lethem in Region Nine.

These add to the existing townships, which are Anna Regina in Region Three; Corriverton, Rose Hall Town and New Amsterdam in the East Berbice/Corentyne Coast of Region Six; and Linden in Region Ten.

President Granger has, of recent, announced that three new towns will be added to the list of already existing townships, and these will be located in Regions Three, Four and Five.

Charity is outside the regions mentioned, but residents believe that the President should add this community to the list of places earmarked for township status. A thriving business hub, Charity was earmarked for township status under the previous administration, but it never happened. Essequibians now believe that the honour is long overdue.

The Charity/Pomeroon area has a rich history. The Pomeroon was first occupied by the Cariwanna tribes some 3000 years ago. They came in contact with the Spaniards in about the year 1420. About 100 years after, some Jews who were thrown out of Brazil took up residence here, and settled in the Pomeroon. Then the Dutch came in 1620, and they not only settled in the Pomeroon, but also establish settlements on the Essequibo Coast. They established the first colony in Guyana.

Skilful administrators, the Dutch began cultivating cotton and coffee, and were the first colonisers to open the region to major developments.

Large scale development of Guyana by the colonisers therefore first began in the Charity/Pomeroon area at a time when what are now the East Coast Demerara, West Coast Demerara and Berbice were densely forested. In fact, the Essequibo Coast then was known as Dutch Guiana, but as time evolved, it became known as the Moroccan Coast, then the Arabian Coast, before it got its current name of Essequibo Coast.

FIRST SUGAR COMPLEX
The first sugar complex was constructed there in 1664, and it was driven by slaves and horses. More than a century later, the Dutch abandoned all of its estates in Charity/Pomeroon after slavery became too costly.

The British took over Guiana in 1803; and in 1840, the Portuguese began to settle in Charity/ Pomeroon.

The Gouveias and the Surroings were in charge of the estates there, but in 1908, they sold them to the British Government for $8,500 pounds.
Soon after the purchase, the Court Hall at Macaseema, 18 miles up the Pomeroon River, was relocated to Charity; and, so, too, the police station which was located at Marlborough, also in the Pomeroon River.

Charity became a centre of development. The Portuguese settlers also played a useful part in that process.

The Roman Catholic school build by the Portuguese is still open today, but is now under Government control. Government assumed control of the school in 1961.

The Second World War (1939-1945) created many problems for Guiana, and the coffee estates at Charity were abandoned for cultivation of rubber, with their accompanying production plants. Rubber was in demand, as it was used to line/coat the sides of steel ships to lessen the force of attraction of a floating bomb.

When the war was over, rubber was no longer in demand, and the rubber estates closed. Land settlement began to mushroom in Charity, and the area was transformed into a housing scheme. And even today, a trace of its past is still present.

There is a passageway in Charity called Rubber Dam, but not many persons there know of its historical name.

Charity today provides a reliable boat service, and is a transit point to the North West, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. With a population of about 6000, the locale also provides customs and immigration services. It has a bank, gas stations, market, cemetery, playgrounds, schools, religious institutions, cultural centres, entertainment spots, the only television station on the Essequibo Coast, the tallest building on the Essequibo Coast (Alphonso’s Shopping Mall), shopping malls, hospital, health centre, pharmacies, a police outpost, paved roads, potable water, telephone and Internet services (Internet service pedestrian), and a thriving business community.

Residents and members of the business community are of the view it would not be an act of charity, but an act of honour, to bestow township status on Charity, one of the pioneering centres of development in Guyana.
(Some historical information credited to Isahak Bashir)