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Guyana
 Guyana
is a tropical country situated on the northern coast of South
America. It is the only country in South America where English is
the official language. It is bordered by Venezuela on the west,
Suriname on the east, Brazil on the south and the Atlantic Ocean on
the north.
Guyana has an area of 214,969 square
kilometers (83,000 sq mi), about the size of Great Britain. The name
Guyana is an Amerindian word meaning Land
Of Many Waters. Guyana is known as the country of Six People -
Africans, Amerindians, Chinese, East Indians, Europeans and
Portuguese.
It is where the virgin rainforest leads
to the Amazon Basin , where the jungle is still unexplored, rivers
uncharted and mountains unclimbed. With over 300 waterfalls,
including one of the World's longest Single drop falls, the stunning
Kaieteur at over 700 feet, over 800 species of birds and a wide and
unique array
 of
fragrant flora and magnificent fauna, it is an incredibly wonderful
land of unspoiled beauty.
 This
is a land famous for acclaimed poets
Martin Carter and A.J. Seymour, internationally acclaimed singer and
songwriter Eddie Grant, famous Jazz legend Art Booms, amazing
cricketer Clive lloyd and many others. It is the land where Sir
Walter Raleigh searched for El Dorado and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was
inspired to write his classic, The Lost World.
Georgetown is the chief port and capital
of Guyana. It is situated on the right bank of the Demerara River
estuary. In Georgetown, familiar landmarks include the lively
Stabroek Market, the sea-wall and the Anglican cathedral of St
George, the tallest wooden building in the world.
Amerindians
The history of the Amerindians in Guyana is a sad one, and one that
parallels the history of the Native Americans in the United States.
The Amerindians are the indigenous people of Guyana. When waves of
Europeans first arrived in Guyana, at about the same time that they
arrived in the United States, the Amerindians were pushed into the
corner or further back in the jungle and Savannah's.
Today, most Amerindians live on Indian
reservations. Their main livelihood is subsistence farming. They are
generally improvised with little hope of economic improvement. Many
of the youths leave the reservations for life in town. Most villages
have no electricity. The primary means of transportation is by
canoe.
It is not uncommon for primary school
children to canoe three to eight miles one way to attend school.
Health care is nominal and as a result, the mortality rate is high,
especially among babies and young children. Alcohol is generally a
problem. The poverty is difficult to adequately describe.
Having made several exploratory trips
into the northwest jungles of Guyana (Northwest), the leadership of
GO believes that we are called to take on this great challenge. It
is a difficult undertaking. There is little infrastructure to rely
on. Most everything must be taken into the reservation by boat or
plane. Standby generators or batteries are the typical means for
electricity. Our teams take in our own food and other provisions.
Malaria pills are a must.
Most Amerindians are Christian and
primarily Protestant. Churches abound but they are not able to
meaningfully help their congregations as the pastors themselves are
in great need. In trying to understand how to help, GO believes that
our first task is to be good humanitarians. For the last four years,
GO sent crates of clothing and some food to the Northwest.
GO will continue to send humanitarian aid. We are evaluating how to
help alleviate the abject poverty. We want to work with the existing
churches on the reservations. In addition and in the planning stages
is the introduction of a sustainable sewing program and other real
job skills programs, most of the skills have not yet been
identified. We would like to find congregations that would like to
adopt a church or a cluster of churches within a reservation.
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