A newcomers experience in the community

Villages are unique, each with its own blend of people, places, and cultures. It’s rare for someone to feel at home in a village hundreds of miles from their birthplace. Yet, Weslui Jacobs says he feels right at home in Waiakabra. A native of the picturesque township of Lethem, Weslui finds life in Waiakabra as peaceful as he expected.
Ideal Road marks the beginning of the Linden-Soesdyke highway and the end of Timehri. Home to a vast variety of trees and animals, Waiakabra is quite different from Weslui’s savannah home in Lethem. As he stated, “Lethem is savannah next to the river. And the place is much, much hotter than this.”

At just twenty-four years old, Weslui has spent most of his life in Lethem and Brazil. He was born and raised in a community just outside the township, a small village that made for humble beginnings. “I grew up in a village. It’s not that far from Lethem – six hours by driving. The village’s name is Tipuru,” Weslui shared.

Tipuru gave Weslui a very ‘adventurous’ childhood, but it also presented a few challenges. Despite the financial struggles his family faced at the time, Weslui said his childhood was a happy one, giving him countless good experiences and memories. He reflected, “School was good. It was much better without internet and electronic stuff. You would enjoy yourself, play with friends, and have adventures.”

Work was hard to come by in Weslui’s early years. He began seeking employment earlier than most, finding his first taste of the working world in neighbouring Brazil. Living so close to the border, Brazil seemed closer and offered many more opportunities to the young Weslui. Arriving in Brazil was a significant shift for him. He explained, “In Brazil, you go looking for opportunities. At home, in the village, you don’t find opportunities. I went to Brazil and spent like a year there. I did construction work when I was 16 or 17.”

But his ambition came at a cost. Like Guyana, Brazil has strict age requirements for work. In a desperate attempt to provide for himself and his family back home, Weslui lied about his age. Working various construction jobs around the Portuguese-speaking country, Weslui kept his true age hidden for a number of years. “In Brazil, they only allow 18 and up for construction work, so I faked my age,” he admitted. After about a year, Weslui returned home, now older and on Guyana’s soil, seeing a chance to start over.

Upon returning to Guyana, Weslui took the opportunity to reconnect with his family and faith. He moved back to his grandmother’s house, where he worked any job he could and ran errands. “When I came back to Lethem, I helped my grandmother. She had a nice, big place, so I would clean up for her and run some errands,” he shared. Weslui’s luck changed, however, when he got the chance to move to Waiakabra. The opportunity came through his church when he was asked to manage a local resort in Waiakabra. He explained, “I used to go to church and help the priests with anything. They employed me as a caretaker in the next compound.”

Before coming to Waiakabra, Weslui admitted that he knew very little about the resort and even less about the community. Today, he sees the community as a home away from home; its tranquillity and friendly people remind him of life on the outskirts of Lethem. “Waiakabra is peaceful, unlike Lethem, where you see a lot of people. Here, it’s peaceful, and I feel at home because there are a lot of Amerindian people in this community as well,” he stated.

Now at the forefront of the village’s tourism sector, Weslui says he enjoys the work he does. Helping people experience the beauty of the community has inspired him to do something similar when he returns home to Tipuru. For now, however, Weslui’s main priority is his family. He shared, “I’m planning to go back to Lethem, not now, maybe in the next ten years. I have my children here, and they have to go to school.”

Weslui says that his wife and children are, in many ways, the joy of his life. Fatherhood has taught him responsibility, an experience he says he needed. He shared proudly, “The first one is six years old, the second is two years, and the last one is a few months old. Fatherhood makes you more responsible for them and for yourself. I’m happy with them. And my wife is a good woman.”

Before moving to Waiakabra, Weslui had never heard of the community; today, he can’t imagine his life without it. He shared contentedly, “I like the work that I do here. It’s a good place and a good life.” This quiet community, known by very few, is the place where Weslui says he has had countless experiences and a world of opportunities.