Scotland’s Elizabeth Andrews talks about her love for the village

DURING her first visit to Pakuri Village, the Amerindian reservation formerly known as St. Cuthbert’s Mission, Elizabeth Andrews fell in love with the community and its people. It was in this beautiful little village that she even met her husband eight years ago, eventually leading her to call the place her home.

Originally from Scotland, Elizabeth visited Pakuri in 2009 to spend time with a friend who was residing in the village as part of the completion of her Ph.D. Programme. It was then that Elizabeth fell in love with the place and she knew she had to return.

“I was quite enthralled by the beauty of Pakuri and its people, their simplicity and way of life. I knew right away it would become my home,” Elizabeth said.

It was during her one-month stay in the community that Elizabeth met Paul Andrews, who is the Treasurer of the Village Council and the man who would later become her husband.

She returned to Scotland with a heavy heart, but returned to Guyana for the occasion of Indigenous Heritage Month and decided to make the village, and Guyana, her home.

Elizabeth married Paul Andrews and is now in charge of the local library. The couple has two children, both of whom live and attend schools in the community.

She describes Pakuri as being a magnet that draws people to the village and once there it is not easy to leave.

Elizabeth added that she was also drawn to the people of Pakuri who, are friendly and welcoming and that the atmosphere is quite relaxing.

“The experience with Guyana’s First Peoples is something like out of a storybook where their way of life is very different from most people,” she said.

According to Elizabeth, the people of Pakuri are mainly from the Arawak tribe and mostly the older residents speak in dialect while the younger generation is more ‘city-savvy’.

THE VILLAGE LIBRARY
Elizabeth oversees the smooth running of the Pakuri Library, which is utilised by all villagers especially the school children, with a staff of four.

She told the Pepperpot Magazine that she started a book drive in 2009 when she first came to Guyana and her friends from Scotland and Canada made generous donations of books.

Elizabeth recalled that a building was constructed, books were arranged on shelves and they moved sometime in 2014. Prior to acquisition of the new building which now functions as a multi-purpose facility in which thousands of books are stored, the library was housed in a one- room space

The Pakuri villager has embarked on a mission to encourage all the children in the village to read more and utilise the library instead of being on cell phones.
The library is open on weekdays as well as on Saturdays when they have games. The building has two laptops for students to type their assignments but there is no internet service in the village as yet.

Cedric Clenkian who was born in the village and still resides there said that there is a need for internet service in the community since they have nursery, primary and secondary schools and that the internet would be of great benefit to the children.