School had just let out for lunch when the World Beyond Georgetown arrived in Mabaruma, one of this country’s newest towns. The Mabaruma Primary School, which sits opposite St Joseph’s Catholic Church at the first junction, had pupils spilling out of the building into the compound and beyond the fence.
A bit further down the road, it was the same at the Mabaruma Nursery School, except that parents were there to collect these younger ones.
Mabaruma, with a population of a little over 2,000, is a true melting pot, with its mixture of ethnicities. Its red road stains your feet the minute you set them down. One of the town’s landmarks is a huge heart-shaped rock on which someone has boldly painted the words, “Jesus Saves” on one side and “Jesus Loves You” on the other.