A Study in Solidarity: Guyana 2018

Hey everyone its Eva and Minoska! For the past two days we have been saying our goodbyes to all of the people we've met. From our hosts' to the children at the orphanages to the seniors at the Palm's and Mahaica Leprosy home, we have said our farewells and shared contacts to stay in touch. Goodbyes are never easy and we realized in our short time here we have created real connections that will never be erased. As we left our final site we all shed tears. We didn't expect the deep love we would receive and reciprocate within our stay in Guyana. This experience has enlighten many of us on the issues that face people in Guyana and those across the world. Whether it involves race, gender, lack of resources, child protection services, and elderly neglect, we are now more aware of our surroundings and privileges. We depart tonight in a few hours at 5:35AM from Guyana to Trinidad. The flight number is BW484 for this flight. The next flight is BW524 will be at 8:40AM to 1:59PM

Hii this is Jenn and Susy here! We are checking in and can't wait to tell you all about our wonderful day today! We first started off our morning with a integrating class session about our experiences over the weekend in the Arawak village of Moraikobai. This conversation was crucial for all of us, especially since it was focused around racial tensions within Guyana. These dynamics reflect strongly on the ways in which each of our group members experience each site and interactions with the people. We plan on continuing this conversation tomorrow with more thoughts and in-depth reflections! After, we drove out to the The Palms: Geriatric Facility, where we explored and met with some familiar and new faces! I, Jenn, was able to go back and continue my conversation with a woman named Daughter. She is the most wonderful and warm woman I have ever encountered. On the first visit, I was unable to converse long because I met her at the end of the visiting hours. So, this time I literal

What's up, what's up! This is Amanda and Robson writing to you about our awesome weekend trip to the interior where we visited an AmerIndian village called Moraikobai. On Saturday morning, we left Georgetown to start our journey down the northern coast of Guyana, where we stopped in Mahaicony at our hosts' home for the first time. Unlike many of our trips in Guyana, this was our first time taking a boat to the place that we visited.We rode on a speed boat where we saw nature at its finest! We rode pass the tropical rain forest on our way to Moraikobai and caught glimpse of bamboos and Guyana's national bird, the Canje Pheasant, on our way back. It was a beautiful sight to see. When we first arrived in the village, we were excited to see how the AmerIndians were celebrating the 52nd anniversary of independence. We were welcomed with music and dancing people around the center of the village where our rest house was located. As a group, we walked around to see more of the

It's Betsy and Robson coming at you live from Georgetown, Guyana. So today, we woke up and visited the National History Museum where we observed tons of indigenous species. The upper floor had species with a tablet depicting where they were discovered and what creatures are on the verge of extinction. Betsy enjoyed learning about the Giant Sloth and its history in Guyana while Robson learned about conservation efforts for four main marine turtles found in Guyana such as; Pacific Ridley, Leatherback turtle, Green turtle and Hawksbill turtle which the Museum wants fishermen to protect before they become extinct from the face of the Earth. The bottom floor of the museum had ancient artifacts like currency bills, tablets which show Guyana's independence from Britain and Dutch, boats and ships that were used in the past, vases, maps, some archeological tools and some other items. Following our trip to the museum we returned to the Palms, the geriatric facility, to

Hey everyone, it's Osrica and Torrie from Guyana! Today was structured differently than our normal days. We took an hour and thirty minute bus ride to Linden to explore Osrica's hometown. Although the bus ride was long, we were excited to see a different part of Guyana besides the commercial hub, Georgetown. Linden is known for its mining of bauxite and natural resources. It was fascinating to see a much more rural area of Guyana as we drove to Linden. The houses were spread apart and we saw glimpses of the denseness of the rainforest as along the way. After we pulled into the bus park, Osrica was able to go visit with her family, while the rest of us had a quick history tour of the town and went to the Blue Lagoon. Since Linden is a mining town, our bus driver took us around the area to show us some of the mining sites and taught us a little about its history. It was incredible to see the immense dunes and hills created by the mining industry. Then, we grabbed some lunc

Hii everyone! This is Jenn and Amanda here!! Today was the first day we got to wear our fancy outfits when we visited Parliament in Georgetown. When we first arrived, the building looked exquisite on the outside with eye-catching architecture. Compared to the rest of Georgetown, the  bright building stands out.We would've never imagined ourselves sitting in the 64-chair Parliament Chamber. As a former British colony, Guyana's legislative branch has been influenced by Britain and their style of governing. At Parliament, we met Mr. December (yes, the month!!!), who introduced us more to Guyana's government and what happens when members of Parliament gather together. Contrary to the peaceful images we see on television, we learned that it can get a bit chaotic! We found it interesting to hear Mr. December mention things we've discussed in our preparation class. He spoke about the past racial relations in Guyana and how its history has influenced the current politics of the

Hello! Jenn and Betsy here! Today we got the opportunity to visit two sites.  The first was called the Palms which is a geriatric housing facility for both men and women. Our team arrived in the morning just before lunch time and divided into three groups to better serve the large community that resides there. Jenn's group was privileged to engage with an all female ward who were friendly, loved music and dance like their hips don't lie. Most of the women that we encountered were thrilled to talk to us and tell us their life stories! Jenn found herself conversing about female empowerment which was touching to voice. Betsy's group was able to go to three different wards to interact with people with various disabilities and backgrounds. Conversations diverged into topics such as eating, praying, and love. It can be assured that many parables were exchanged within the tin roofs of the ward. Afterwards, Anthony cooked up a delicious lunch for us! It consisted of fried chic

Hi, it's Osrica and Robson from Guyana! Today, we revisited the Guyana Red Cross Convalescent Home, which is an orphanage for newborn babies to 6 year old children. We separated into two groups to assist the maidens in doing different activities with the children. One group read books and played games with the older children in a classroom setting, while the other group engaged in different activities with the babies. Additionally, Prof. Kirby and some of the students helped thoroughly clean the children's dining area. Overall, it was a great visit and we felt as though we are beginning to understand our role and purpose in this community site. For lunch, we had another delicious meal made by Anthony, our host. It was white rice, chicken and steamed vegetables. As usual, lunch was absolutely amazing. After lunch, we spent some time working on unloading and sorting the donations from the barrel. Then, we took a 40-minute ride to two new sites: the Mahaica Leprosy Residence and

Hey y’all this Eva and Carlos live from Guyana! Our day started with breakfast at 8:30 AM with a meal consisting of fresh fruits like mangoes, pineapple accompanied with a homemade bread called cheeese flap. As always this early meal is complemented with fun conversations after our breakfast. These conversations often get us ready for the day ahead of us. We continued the morning with the usual preparations before the trip such as lathering in sunscreen and bug spray. Today we had the opportunity to visit the Cavalesecent Home, an orphanage with kids from newborn to six years old. During our visit we interacted with the children through improvised games. We hung out and played with the kids, some of the team members cared for the older kids, others helped with putting a bed together, and some fed the youngest children. In the afternoon we headed home to eat a great meal cooked by our host Anthony which included curry and rice. Lunch was followed by the visit to the Bosco Orphanage wh

Hey families and friends! Susy and Minoska here. Today was our first official day in Georgetown, Guyana. We started the day with LOTS of sleep and a great brunch provided by our amazing hosts Anthony and Andrea. This morning we waited out the rain before going sightseeing around Georgetown. Our guides name was Rashleigh and he along with Anthony, Andrea, their children and Andrea's brother Davon, will be accompanying us the couple of weeks that we are here. For our first site we saw the Cuffy Statue, which is of a man who led the slaves in one of the biggest slave rebellions in Guyanese history, leading Guyanese slaves to independence. After this we drove to Starbroek Marketplace while Anthony told us about the history of the buildings around it and how many Guyanese make a living at the marketplace. Directly across from the marketplace is the Parliament building where we will be visiting and meeting with officials later in our trip. Next we visited the tal

Hey it’s Betsy and Torrie!  We finally reached Guyana today after a long day filled with adventure.  For a lot of us this travel day has been a first for a lot of us: first time out of the country, first time on an island and the first time to the beach in a long while after a cold Vermont winter.  While this was a first some of us, some members of our team are more seasoned travelers in the Caribbean. It was a balanced experience for the whole group. We started our travels off with a midnight flight out of JFK and landed in Trinidad early in the morning. We met up with some amazing friends of Professor Kirby’s, and took a trip around the island to a beautiful beach. Going through the town, it was interesting to see the differences between there and the U.S. The buildings are colorful and the driving is unique to say the least. They drive on the opposite side of the road and do a lot of what seems like polite beeping. As we drove to the beach, the view was spectacular, mountains sur

This Course consists of a 2-3 week international Community-Engaged Learning trip to Guyana in May.            In Guyana, we will engage in volunteer work at the following sites: The Palms Geriatric Institution, St. John Bosco's Orphanage & the three other orphanages, and Mahaica Leprosy Residence. We will also work to support Anthony Archer, our host in Guyana, and his Foundation. One might ask: why do we have to go to Guyana when people suffer in our own neighborhoods? Our focus, during this trip, will be on serving the individuals we will visit and identifying similarities and differences in what marginalization means in a country in the global South as compared to our own country. We will discuss both universalities in suffering and inherent in marginalization in any setting and the non-universal, unique circumstances that individuals face. Guyana's history provides an excellent example of many factors that contribute to global marginalization experienced in the deve