By Faith Greene

THIS week, the Pepperpot Magazine visited one of Guyana’s most historic villages, Victoria, on the East Coast of Demerara.
It is the village located just after Cove and John, and before Belfield. Victoria is one of the villages that many associate, or think of, during Emancipation celebrations in Guyana.

It took about 40 minutes to complete our journey from Georgetown to sunny Victoria. Heading into the highly-populated section of Victoria, there is the hospital, schools, and a learning centre, called Foundation for Real Christian Education, where children were awaiting the commencement of their classes.

There is also a pharmacy and a number of other shops and small businesses owned by the residents of the community.
On the other half of Victoria is the Victoria Cultural Centre, where several village activities take place, one of them being the village’s Emancipation Day celebratory activities.
The village was bought by freed slaves after the abolition of slavery, much like other communities such as Bachelor’s Adventure, Buxton and Ann’s Grove.

What’s most impressive about Victoria is that it has a classic ‘old country village’ look to it. It was almost a warm, homey feeling when walking around the village. The structures built there are not all modern, but they also are not very old. You could tell, just by looking at it that you’re entering a village with a strong cultural presence. And while many don’t recall it, the team was lucky to speak with quite a few persons who would have shared all of what they know about the village.

According to a 2013 article on Victoria in the Guyana Chronicle, Victoria measured 130 rods in width, and was seven miles long (depth, as measured from the sea).
Additionally, they said that the freed slaves occupied the north of the village for residential purposes, while the rest was used for farming.

This was also mentioned by another resident in the community, one David Cuffie, who said that farming has been a source of income for many families in the village, including his own when he was growing up.
As times change, it is expected that not everyone would want to continue in that line of work; and not everyone does. There are welders, mechanics, and contractors among other things in the small village of thousands.