“I had a nice time during my youth days, travelled all over,” said Donald James. He sat on a bench in his yard, as his two grandchildren played with a football nearby. He is the patriarch of Kummucherie Island, one of several landmasses which are surrounded by water in the Moruca Sub-Region.
In fact, his is the only family member which resides on the island. Uncle Donald, as he is fondly referred to at Moruca, lives at the entrance of the community while his children live aback his home with their families.
“Is only me and my four children and grandchildren,” he said.
James is a retired surveyor. He worked with the then British Guiana Lands and Surveys Department, a job which took him to almost every part of the country.
He said that the job entailed taking samples and calculating boundary lines at various areas across the country including at Kaieteur Falls, Lethem, the Mazaruni and at Soesdyke.
He said that he later ventured into the field of farming, and he was also a fisherman.
“I used to even be into diving,” he added. These days, he catches fish, farms on the community lands and he purchases goods to carry him and his family at least for a month.
James celebrated his 70th birthday last month. He said he will only move away from the island to join the Heavenly Father.
“I alright, to be living by myself on this island with my family, I really enjoy it here,” he said.
Like most communities on the islands, James’ is one inherited from his father. He said that the lands have been passed down by generations and his sons and daughter will occupy other parts of the community and will also pass on the tradition to their children.
James said that he enjoys the company of his many grandchildren. “I have a lot of grandchildren you know,” he said with a smile.
“Over that side one of my daughters, she got a whole set you know and when they come here is a whole generation in the yard,” he said, as everyone nearby laughed. “That’s the reason Abraham got all those people behind him,” he added.