Residents of Victoria Village, East Coast Demerara, celebrated their 3rd annual Victoria Village Day under the theme “Transforming words into action through cooperation” with the hosting of a village conference yesterday.
Victoria was the first village purchased by freed slaves.
The conference, which was organized by the Victoria Reconstruction Trust (VRT), comprised a host of activities which began on July 28 and will conclude on August 5. Some of the activities included a prayer vigil, dinner and dance, fun day and show, gospel concert, health and environment day, masquerade and drumming competition among others.
At yesterday’s event a number of residents gathered at the ceremony which, according to chairman of VRT Michael Spencer, brings together community members in discussions on proposals and solutions to problems in the community.
Members from the Mangrove Producers Group were also present at the conference which allowed them to showcase some of their produce. One of the members, Carlotta De Jesus, shared her group’s contribution in assisting to better the lives of women in the community. She mentioned that her group, which is made up of 10 women, assists persons to generate income by putting their homemaking skills into action.
She added that the women in her group would make items such as green seasoning, pepper sauce, candles, honey, tamarind balls, jams and other items which they would sell.
Also speaking at the event was member of the Diaspora, Dr Leyland Lucas, who is also a member of the Leadership Conference Committee. He said that raising the consciousness of residents so that they can realize that they have more control of their lives is one of their primary focuses. He also stated that an improvement in the appearance of the village’s environment is one of the areas that they have been able to visibly transform since persons from the community would normally be involved in clean up campaigns around the village.
Meanwhile, Rawle Lucas, who is a member of the Victoria Conference Leadership shared his thoughts on an event that he describes as informative. He said that such initiatives are focused on development and projects that can be implemented in the community to improve the lives of residents. He also said that they have been able to accomplish a lot including the establishment of a business support unit that helps entrepreneurs and persons who would like to become entrepreneurs.
In a Guyana Review article of December 2009 on the village, historian David Granger had this to say: “Victoria is the mother of all villages. The founding of Victoria, the first village on the coastland, is a landmark – a monument to the idea of human freedom and a living museum of human endeavour in this land. Victoria spawned the great village movement that transformed a cheerless archipelago of plantations on British Guiana’s coastland into a chain of human settlements stretching from the Corentyne to the Pomeroon Rivers.”
