A SERIES of activities designed to celebrate African Emancipation on the island of Wakenaam kicked off with a church service at the African Methodist Church on Emancipation Day.The service was well attended, and villagers all rejoiced and gave thanks to the Lord for allowing them to be free men today. They asked for His divine blessings to enable them to continue growing from strength to strength, and that their personal development and that of Guyana would continue.

At the grand fun day on Saturday, residents were entertained by the Congo Drummers. During the days of slavery, communication among the slaves was tightly restricted, and the drum was used as a means of communication. Every sound of the drum was used to communicate a specific message to comrades, and in this way they were able to keep in contact with each other and on track with their plans.

At the fun day, African dishes, clothing and dancing were abundant, and practically every aspect of the African culture was on display. The event saw villagers coming together to each have a fantastic time. While it was an African celebration, from the look of things, it was more a Guyanese celebration.

Next Saturday, the Wakenaam African Group will be giving out hampers to the elderly, and the Emancipation celebration would conclude with a Spelling Bee competition among the local primary schools on August 28.

As part of the celebrations, the Wakenaam African Group intends to repaint the Dutch koker at Maria Johanna as a voluntary project done by its members.
African cultural celebrations on Wakenaam have reportedly been somewhat at a standstill since the passing of many of the African elders, but a few years ago, a number of residents bonded together with the aim to ensure preservation of their culture.

The Emancipation celebrations are intended to imbue pride in the young generation of Afro-Guyanese on matters of African culture and heritage.