Introduction: Co-operative Republic of Guyana

After months of medical, dental and legal paperwork I am finally on my way to Georgetown, Guyana! On April 28th, I will fly into Miami, Florida for a busy day of staging and orientation, and then on the 29th will touch down in Guyana along with the rest of my Education group. There are two groups going to Guyana: the Education group (which I am in), and the Health Education group. Guyana is a sovereign state located in the northern coast of South America. Culturally, it is considered part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana is bordered by Suriname to the east, Venezuela to the north-west, and Brazil to the south and south-west. The people of Guyana are racially and ethnically diverse. The majority of the Guyanese population belongs to the descendants of immigrants from India, known as East Indians or Indo-Guyanese. The second-largest ethnic group in the country are the Afro-Guyanese, comprising thirty percent of the population. There are people of mixed heritage as well, and aboriginals like the Arawak, Carib, Macushi, Akawaio, Arecuna, Wai Wai, Patamona, Wapixana and Warao constitute ten percent of the Guyanese.The official language of Guyana is English. and used in its schools. Caribbean languages such as the Akawaio, Wai-Wai, Arawak and Macushi are the minority languages. A dialect of the Guyanese language, the Guyanese Creole is also widely spoken. The pre-dominant religion of Guyana is Christianity. The largest denominations include Pentecostals, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Seventh-day Adventists. Almost twenty-eight percent of the people practice Hinduism. There are also a few members of Islam, the Baha'i Faith and Rastafarianism. I have a lot more to write but it will have to come later as I am busy packing away. Stay tuned for more posts!

Best,
Ahad