GCAM                    "Let Us Unite for Progress"

INTERESTING ARTICLES

                            
                              A Simple Description of Guyana
 
    The Co-operative Republic of Guyana Is a country on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana has been a former colony of the British, Dutch and for a brief period, the French. It is the only country of the Commonwealth of Nations on mainland South America, and is also a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which has its secretariat headquarters in Guyana's capital, Georgetown. Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966 and became a Republic on 23 February 1970. click here to continue this article

                                                        OIL EXPLORATION IN GUYANA Jan. 2017

                                     GCAM 2017 SCHOLARSHIP     
     Dear Members,
                              In honour of their 50th Anniversary celebration the GUYANA CULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF MONTREAL is awarding two (2) Scholarships to eligible students: 
        • A secondary student who has gained admission to CEGEP. 
        • A CEGEP student who has been accepted to University.

        To be eligible for the awards, the candidates must meet the following criteria.                          
   Eligibility Criteria (1 of 3) • Born in Guyana • Born in Canada of Guyanese parents • At least one parent is of Guyanese origin
             The 2 Scholarships will be awarded based on merit and need. The Scholarships will be presented at the Guyana Cultural Association of Montreal 50th Anniversary Gala Celebration on September 16, 2017
         To Apply
        Fill out the scholarship Application Form.  Applications for the scholarship program must be submitted along with all required documents no later than Saturday, July 15, 2017.  Entries received after this date will not be considered.  There will be no exceptions to the deadline date.
 
       Please submit your application to the attention of Yvonne Sam, Chair of the Scholarship Committee at the  mailing address or by email, listed on our Contact Us Page.

      
                              Narrative for Guyana Heritage Night Ottawa, April 15 th, 2016  
   In the Beginning
                               In the beginning there was this land with green, green, green hills; nuff, nuff, nuff rivers,
 Plenty, plenty, plenty fish, birds, animals, insects – all dem tings that like to live in trees, and tings like dat.  And this place was
 put in charge of a God named Makonaima and he called it Guiana. –  click here to continue this article

                              Kenneth King, August 22, 1929 – July 30, 2008:
    Dr. Kenneth Fitzgerald Stanislaus King, former ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and Minister of Economic
 Development, died on July 30th at the age of 78. It was Kenneth King’s good fortune to have been appointed chief architect to lead the teams that designed the two most ambitious economic development plans in post-independence Guyana.

    The first, known as the Second Development Plan 1972-1976, was launched by the People’s National Congress 
 administration. The second, the National Development Strategy, was launched by the People’s Progressive Party
 administration in 1996. It was Guyana’s misfortune that neither was fully implemented much less given a chance to succeed.
 click here to continue this article

                                      Subject: Water and Aspirin - Mayo Clinic
    MAYO CLINIC - DRINKING WATER
                           A cardiologist determined that heart attacks can be triggered by dehydration. "Good Thing To Know", From The Mayo Clinic.
              How many folks do you know who say they don't want to drink anything before going to bed because they'll have to get up during the night?

    Heart Attack and Water -
              Drinking one glass of water before going to bed avoids stroke or heart attack. Interesting.......
    
              Something else I didn't know ... I asked my Doctor why people need to urinate so much at night time?  
 click here to continue this article

                                     Emancipation Day 2016

     August 1, 2016 is the 178th Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery. It is disheartening that the majority of Afro-Guyanese have no idea what August 1, 1838, represents in their existence.
    Emancipation Day is celebrated on the first of August, and it is appropriate to restore the struggles of our ancestors to the mantle place in our daily lives. click here to continue the article

     The prime Minister's Emancipation Message 2016, click here. 

     To read more on "the End of Slavery",  click here
    

                       SILENCE ON WILLIE LYNCH  SPEECH:

      Since 1995 there has been much attention given to a speech claimed to be delivered by a “Willie Lynch” in 1712.  This speech has been promoted widely throughout African American and Black British circles.  It is re-printed on numerous websites, discussed in chat rooms, forwarded as a “did you know” email to friends and family members click here to continue this article
                 
                                   INDIAN ARRIVAL DAY:

      Each year on May 5 is “Indian Arrival Day,” in Guyana, commemorating the arrival of Indian indentured labourers to the Caribbean. On May 5, 1838, the S.S. Hesperus and the S.S. Whitby arrived along the shores of Berbice and Demerara. Together they carried 396 Indians, referred to as “coolies,” from Chota Nagpur, then Bihar, 300 miles from Kolkata.

      India indentured labourers were imported to fill the void created as a result of the mass exodus of ex-slaves from plantation labour following the abolition of slavery in 1833, and the premature termination of the apprenticeship scheme in 1838.click here to continue the article                      
  
                                   PORTUGUESE IN GUYANA:

     The Portuguese came to Guyana as indentured laborers to work on the sugar plantation. Most of the Portuguese came from Madeira due to the instability and famine of Portugal. The first group of Portuguese arrived in Guyana in the latter part of 1834 from Madeira. On May 3rd, 1835, forty Portuguese peasants from Madeira arrived on the "Louisa Baille," seeking a prosperous future in Guyana, in the land referred to as El Dorado. They continued coming and by the end of 1835, there were 553 Portuguese indentured laborers on various plantations. Between 1835 and 1880 there were 32,216 Portuguese indentured immigrants in Guyana but the majority of them arrived around 1860.

     The Portuguese were not cut out for plantation work and when their contracts were over, many of them did not renew their contracts and moved into retail business.Their new success as shopkeepers in Guyana caused resentments, which resulted in the destruction of Portuguese properties during the Georgetown riots in 1856.

     Although the Portuguese were of European background, they were not considered to be on the same level as the English.

                                   CHINESE IN GUYANA:

     In 1853, the first batch of Chinese, all males, arrived in Guyana. They came on a 5-year contract. The route of the ship was from Canton, by way of Singapore and Cape town. It arrived in Georgetown, capital of Guyana, after a long and harsh journey at sea. Chinese women began coming to Guyana in 1860, but in small numbers.

      Between 1853 to 1879, 13,541 Chinese arrived in Guyana. Many Chinese protested the harsh life of plantation and many escaped to Charlestown, which was becoming the local "Chinatown" in Guyana. As they escaped, they were eventually caught, imprisoned for 30 days and returned to the plantation and then the cycle of escape, punishment and capture was repeated.

      Like the East Indians contract laborers in Guyana, the Chinese also took their savings and purchased lands from the Africans as the Chinese were astute business people and were able to established themselves well in Guyana.