A Moblissa man urges unity among the community
THE village of Moblissa exhibits simplistic living at its best. The community is home to a few hundred people whose main source of income comes from all things related to agriculture.
The village is home to many close-knit families and relatives spread out among the community. The villagers express, however, that, like in many other places, that is a great call for unity among the community.

Winston Kisson and his family have called Moblissa home for over six years. Winston, is among seven children who returned to Moblissa after their mother’s death. He admitted that, initially, he was hesitant to come to Moblissa but he has since come to love the community. “I did not want to come here. But I did with the agreement that I was going to work on this land and develop it and not let it go down the drain because this is what my mother left.”

Life in the countryside was not exactly a new experience for Winston. He had spent much of his life in the Waini River in Region One. “I grew up in a lot of places. I was born at the Georgetown Public Hospital. I went to school in the Demerara River. Then I came to Moblissa. I then worked at a timber grant, and I worked as a tobacco farmer in Laluni,” he said. Winston eventually found and married his now-wife during his many travels. The couple have eleven children and more than a dozen grandchildren.

Today, like most of his friends, neighbours and family, Winston is a farmer and a security guard at the local primary school. The Kissoon family is in a unique position, as they live close to the well. As the only one available for miles, the well is important to the community, but not everyone can access it. “This community has about 50 houses and the farms are scattered. Only about eight homes benefit from the well if they are nearby. The rest have to use creek water or black tanks,” Winston shared.

“Life in Moblissa is just normal. What else can we do?” Winston stated. He went on further to express that the community needs representation. He explained that he would like to see certain developmental things done in Moblissa. But cooperation is needed for that to take place. Winston stated that the lack of cooperation and representation for the community has lasting effects. He said, “A lot of people say what the community needs, but we do not see anything happening. And I think it discourages people.”

Moblissa has long been known for and somewhat revered for its large-scale successful agriculture. The village was once home to a dairy factory and one of the country’s largest tobacco farms. In those days, Winston says, although the community was still in the stage of its humble beginnings, it was still an amazing place to live because it had one thing he wishes to see today: unity among its people.

“Moblissa had the same amount of people, but it was nicer. It had more unity. People used to come together,” Winston stated. He painted a captivating image of what Moblissa once looked like in its former years. He stated that the community had grown and its people had spread themselves out. In the past, however, Moblissa’s people were more centralised and far more united. “Now, the place has become more developed. And a lot more people have come into the village,” Winston said.

In a community where neighbours are sometimes separated by acres of farmland, communication is sometimes difficult to accomplish. Winston described disunity as self-destructive, likening it to crabs in a barrel. He stated, “It is like crab in a drum. When one tries to leave, the other pulls him down. And apparently, they are embedded in that kind of living and it is hard to change them.” He believes that perhaps if someone made an effort to rally the community, Moblissa would see that cooperation go a long way.

Winston and a few fellow villagers have made numerous attempts at getting the community together. He explained, however, that this is easier said than done. “I have tried to raise the conversation with people about coming together, but nobody wants to do that. They say they do not have the time and things like that. They are big people, and I can make them come together,” he said.

“Moblissa needs a lot of help. Maybe if somebody could come and give the people encouragement to come together somehow, this could work out,” Winston said. Winston believes that unity in a community where change is needed is not only possible, but is a necessity. “Unity is power,” Winston stated. He believes that cooperation would be in the best interest of not just Moblissa but also villages everywhere and Guyana as a whole.