Visit to Den Amstel to hear Villagers’ Concerns

by Dr. David Hinds

A team of us—Vincent Alexander, Deon Abrams, Comica Johnson and David Hinds—visited Den Amstel on Tuesday at the invitation of a group of residents to hear their concerns and see the terrible condition of the roads and canals in the village. We also heard of their difficulties in getting house lots and about their concern over a disputed piece of communal land that has allegedly been leased to a private citizen.

This visit is part of a series of outreaches to villages by the organization Cuffy250 with the objective of encouraging communities to organize themselves to do two things. First, to engage in Self-Activity aimed at culturally and economically revitalizing their communities. Second, to take inventory of what they have and don’t have in their villages with the aim of engaging the government in the process of revitalization.

We have so far visited Dartmouth and Henrietta on the Essequibo Coast, Ans Grove, Uitvlugt, De Kendren, Melanie Damishana and Boeraserie Scheme.