APPROXIMATELY 35 miles from Linden, deep in the bosom of the Upper Demerara jungle lies a serene little paradise by the name of Ituni.

Having its origin in bauxite mining, Ituni was transformed into a community with the formation of families whose patriarchs served in the several expatriate bauxite companies.
Nestled neatly between the Demerara and Berbice Rivers, the sparsely populated mining community quickly blossomed, and to date, the community has approximately 2000 residents.
While bauxite mining brought much prosperity to the small community, which was evident in the growing infrastructural development and standard of living, things slowly began to turn around with the downsizing of the bauxite company.

NEW PURSUITS
Rather than throw in the towel and render Ituni uninhabited, residents quickly put on their thinking caps and, pretty soon, logging became popular, while other residents tended to gravitate more to farming, hunting and fishing.

Optimism soon began to spiral in the community, and while basic necessities were lacking, it was the closeness; the trust; the camaraderie that residents shared and the peace that prevailed that made Ituni the paradise it is today.
“If you ain’t get food fuh feed yuh children, you bet by the end of the day, yuh pickney gon eat because we used to look out fuh each other; we were our brothers and sisters keepers, and that is what kept us together,” one octogenarian, who has been living in the community for over six decades, told this publication.
In the past, the community was made up of mainly Amerindian residents, but as it continued to expand, Ituni can now be termed a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural community.
In terms of public facilities, the community was able, in time, to have its own nursery and primary schools, namely the Howell Wilson Nursery and Primary Schools.
It also established a health post, a police station, post office, playground, churches, variety stores, marketplace and many night spots and watering holes.

A DOWNTURN
Then, all of a sudden, things started going downhill for Ituni: The internal roads began to deteriorate despite calls for the relevant authorities to remedy the situation. Residents say that the roads, drains and canals were all kept up-to-standard by the various bauxite companies that mined the area, but since bauxite mining stopped in Ituni, all repairs also seemed to stop with it.
Residents also say that most of the infrastructural works these days are being done by self-help, but are no match for the heavy-duty and lumber trucks constantly traversing the road, thereby taking a heavy toll on its surface.
And while there are telephone, electricity and potable water services, residents believe that the latter needs significant improvements.
They have also had cause in the past to block the main road in protest of its deplorable condition, and recently, parents of the Howell Wilson Primary School launched a protest over the disgraceful conditions to which the children are subject.
With the absence of a high school and tertiary institution, many of the young people who leave Ituni to further their studies rarely return, citing the lack of opportunities for one to elevate oneself. Those who do return most likely become loggers or farmers.

NOT THE SAME
Recently, the Guyana Chronicle had occasion to sit down with some of Ituni’s elderly men who complained bitterly of the turn of events in the community.
Idle youths, burglars stealing from farms, lack of meaningful activities for the youths to be involved in, and a drastic decline in the economy were just some of the issues brought to the fore. One of those men was Mr Samuel George, an 80-year-old who described the situation as unbecoming.
He normally farms eddoes, dasheen, plantains, cassava and bananas but does not get to reap them as they are often stolen. “When you plant, people reaping; and that is bad,” he said.

He posited that Ituni is not like it was back then, when everyone went about without fear of being robbed.
“Ituni is not like the Ituni they had before; they got a lot of different people coming in the community and spoiling it,” Mr George said.
When reports are made, the elderly men said, justice cannot be served as they cannot definitively say who the culprits are. “It is unfair to know an old, old man helping helping me’self and people doing these things to me.”
Another elderly farmer, Mr Clifton Thom who lives alone said that he normally does subsistence farming in the backlands of Ituni, and his experience is the same as Mr George.
ALL NOT LOST
But despite the many challenges, residents yet believe that all is not lost in the little community of Ituni. They believe that the unity is still there, but sometimes out of frustration of the slow economy, this may result in a few burglaries and advantage being taken on a few in the community.
“We will rise again,” said one resident, who urged all Guyanese to visit this little community to experience a little of their hospitality, and signature giant pholouries and hot mango sour.