A picturesque village from hill-foot to hill-top

This week the Pepperpot Magazine visited Silver City, Wismar, Linden, in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) to highlight the way of life of the people.

IN the background of this village is the Demerara River. From its Burnham Drive entrance, there is a huge masjid and from this street the internal streets can be located which leads to Victory Valley and Blueberry Hill.

It is a very scenic village set on both the hill foot and uphill with residential houses lining the community, making a colourful picture.

Silver City is located between Silvertown and Christianburg,and is bordered by the Demerara River and other villages in Wismar.

It is a small village with a mosque, churches, an old Lodge building, a large hardware store – Bolo’s Variety and Furniture Store, shops and many roadside stalls with varying small businesses.

Schools, health centres and other public buildings and services are accessed at neighbouring villages.

The population is about 250 residents, predominantly of Afro Guyanese descent, and they are very welcoming and accommodating.

The main economic activities of the locals are centred on the rearing of pigs, ducks, sheep, goats, chickens, cash-crop farming and small businesses.

Some people work in both the private and public sectors, and there are a few teachers, nurses and servicemen and women.

It is a relatively clean village that is prone to flooding, but through self-help, the residents continue to clear drains and do other community-enhancement works.

Some folk have lovely flower gardens, and it is a place with a lot of greenery,which makes it so picturesque.

Silver City Village is a good place to be, and it is a very safe neighbourhood. Being a small community, all the villagers know each other.

Most of the villagers have lived there all their lives. Some settled after their families relocated there, searching for work with the bauxite company decades ago.

The early settlers had constructed modest zinc houses. They were people who had journeyed from all across the country seeking jobs in the mining town when the bauxite company was booming.

Today, there are no such houses; the last one was torn down last year and a modern structure was constructed.

The locals are simple, everyday people eking out a living by doing many things which involve using their skills to make pepper sauce, achar and other things to sell.

Silver City Village has one main street, an all-weather road that goes through the small community and two internal streets which are sand-filled.

The next street is a busy thoroughfare- Sunflower Street, which is frequently used by people going to Victory Valley and Blueberry Hill.

Raymond Halley, giving a historical background of his life in Silver City
Meanwhile, one of the locals, Raymond Halley told the Pepperpot Magazine that he has been living in the village since the 1950s.

His father was from Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara and had relocated to Silver City after he gained employment with the bauxite company.

Halley related that his father brought the family to Linden, and they resided at Dakama Circle, McKenzie, until they moved to Silver City, after which a house was built.

Today, it is the same house his father constructed from bricks. In the early days, they had a rum shop on the lower flat on the building.

The 70-year-old added that after his father became a Muslim, he ceased operating the rum shop business and ventured into the ‘salt goods’ business where they had a small grocery shop.

His father passed away in the 1990s at 89 years old. At the time, he was an executive member of the masjid and one of the earliest practising Muslims in the area.

He converted to Islam after the 1964 disturbances, and his life changed significantly for the better.

Halley disclosed that when his father came to Silver City to settle, it was a thick jungle, and he began to do community work like building the roads and clearing the trees to have it more habitable.

He later struck with a strong friendship in the name of community work with then councillor, Walker Bourne, a local of Silver City who has since passed away.

They named the street Gateway Alley and later, both Bourne and the senior Robert Halley decided that the name wasn’t fitting, and they renamed it Sunflower Street.

Bourne was a political activist as well and was active in community development in Silver City. She passed away in the 1990s.

Halley stated that his life was enhanced when he converted to Islam 44 years ago. After two years of studying, he received a diploma and began teaching Islam at the local masjid.

He is now an executive member of the masjid, and in the absence of the Imam, he is often called upon to lead in prayers.