IN observance of Amerindian Heritage Month, which is celebrated in September annually, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs this year has launched a month-long calendar of activities which started on September 1 with a feature chronicling the Amerindian Heritage Month celebrations and a poem competition launch.

With the theme: Igniting Unity, Celebrating Progress, Advancing Our Culture,” Guyanese of all walks of life look forward to the various activities, especially the authentic Indigenous arts, craft and food event at the Sophia Exhibition Site which will be held from September 6 to September 11 this year.

The Guyana Chronicle will be featuring some of our local Indigenous brothers and sisters during this period to highlight their way of life, work, and contributions to the upliftment of their communities.

One such Amerindian native is Rehanna Rodrigues who will soon be taking up her role as the first-ever medex of Micobie Village, Region Eight.

She is a beneficiary of the Ministry of Health’s Medex Programme, which the government is strengthening to help improve human resource capacity and primary healthcare delivery, particularly in rural and hinterland areas.
Realising the gaps in service delivery across Guyana especially in the remote parts of Guyana, the 23-year-old took a liking to the medical profession and wanted to become a medex to serve her community.

Rodrigues told the Guyana Chronicle that she is a native of Micobie Village but when she was three years old, her mother brought her to Region Four to attend school. The plan was for her to benefit from the better education opportunities that were available.
She resided at Diamond, East Bank Demerara and attended the Peter’s Hall Primary School. She later earned a place at the Diamond Secondary School where she wrote 12 CSEC subjects.
Rodrigues said her first job was as a bond clerk at National Hardware store and after a few months she realised that that was not where she wanted to be.
Shortly after, she got a job as a financial assistant in the city. Not satisfied with the job, she left six months later.
She related that she felt that something was missing from her life. It was her mother who told her about the four-year Medex Programme that was being offered by the Ministry of Health.
It ignited her interest, and she applied.

She told this publication that many times she wanted to quit but she stuck to the plan, successfully graduating after years of hard work.
Rodrigues reported that it was due to strong family support and her batchmates that she managed to make it to the end.
She explained that her cousin was a Community Health Worker (CHW) before she became a Midwife. Two years ago, in Micobie Village whenever she visited, she would take her along to work. She fell in love with the idea of being about to help her fellow villagers.
Rodrigues believes in serving people. When she completes her six-week internship at the Mahdia Hospital under the supervision of a doctor, she returns to her village to serve her people. She will be the medex in-charge at the health centre.

The young medical professional told the Guyana Chronicle that she is the first medex to be posted in her village, which is a picturesque little place that sits comfortably on a hill overlooking the lower Potaro River. It is a secluded farming community with about 900 residents mostly of Amerindian descent.
She stated that the village was initially called Cassava Hill before it was renamed Micobie. In recent years, it has undergone some transformation.
Presently, several buildings including a guest house, a craft shop, the doctor’s quarters, and a secondary school are being constructed.
There is a nursery school, the village benab which is the central point of activities or the primary meeting place, a primary school, and a health centre.
The medex said she is very excited to return to Micobie Village to take on her role and she will become an advocate and a listening ear to the many issues they have in the community. Among them are domestic disputes, teenage pregnancy, and alcohol abuse.

“I am looking forward to going back home to cater to the medical needs of the people. I want to serve my community, to be a role model to the young people and to show them that all things are possible with hard work and true dedication,” she said.

Rodrigues added that she likes her village because of its remoteness, the peace and quiet and the close-knitted nature of the people.
Micobie Village is accessible over land and by water. The fare by bus to Mahdia is $12,000 one-way per person. From there, it takes 20 minutes by vehicle to get to Micobie.
According to information released by the health ministry, the number of trained medex professionals increased from 26 for the 2015-2020 period to 111 under the President Ali-led administration (August 2020 to September 2025).