Ministry and Culture in Guyana (Part 1)

“The time has come
For closing books; and long last looks must end
And as I leave,
I know that I am leaving my best friend
A friend who taught me right from wrong,
And weak from strong — that’s a lot to learn
What can I give you in return?” -Lyrics from the song “To Sir, With Love” performed by Lulu in 1967 and the GLEE cast in 2012

Ms. Parris reporting again from Guyana on the twin topics of ministry and culture. A lot of life-giving energy in Guyana is rooted in the cultural activities and spiritual pursuits of the people here. One cultural event that remains particularly uplifting to me (because of my own vocation as a Christian educator) was seeing E.R. Braithwaite here at the “To Sir, With Love” play performed at the Cultural Center and co-produced by National Library of Guyana in Georgetown on Wednesday August 22, 2012.

E.R. Braithwaite is a legendary Guyanese novelist, educator, diplomat and scholar whose novel “To Sir, With Love” was adapted into a movie with the same name starring Sidney Poitier in 1967.

Both the book and film address themes concerning education, respect and race that are still relevant today, especially for new teachers who are negotiating classroom management styles (and specifically, the interplay of teacher influence with both teacher and student beliefs). Seeing the dramatic production of a Guyanese version of “To Sir, With Love” with a local cast and contemporary setting was a treat with the cherry on-top manifesting when E.R. Braithwaite signed my library card!

My library card signed by E.R. Braithwaite.

Such blessings like these have made the Cultural Center in Georgetown a very important if not sacred space in Guyanese history and community. There are many overtly religious-themed paintings in the space  hanging the lobby walls;  however, the cultural programming often showcases the vibrant spiritual life of the people in subtle ways. One recent example of this intersection of culture and spirituality is seen in the Miss Jamzone International 2012 pageant that I attended on Tuesday August 21, 2012.

Ticket stub for the 2012 Miss Jamzone International Pageant I attended at the culture center in Georgetown.

My ticket stub is the pic right above this text and right below you can see that for the cultural wear category, Miss Guyana donned a powerful dress containing a miniature replica of the St. George’s Cathedral on the train of her costume.

St. George’s Cathedral in Guyana is a critical part of Guyanese history for spiritual and cultural reasons as an Anglican church  that was once the tallest wooden structure in the world (read more about the full history here: http://www.stgeorges.org.gy/history.html). The faithful; can worship inside while tourists may visit Guyana to snap photos like these from my personal collection the outside:

There are many wonderful places of worship here such as St. George’s Cathedral and similarly there are many Christians here and abroad who are led by God to partner in wonderful ways with the people of Guyana. I was blessed to have team members in the Ex-Guyana National Service Association of North America  and also New Haven, CT at The Church of Redeemer and Yale Divinity School who traveled with me to Guyana or sent items like  books as well as prayers and great advice about partnerships and projects here.

Cornerstone for the new playground at the Carifesta Sports Complex that was built this summer

One of the projects completed this summer in partnership with the Guyanese Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport; Dr. Frank Anthony and the team members who were former members of the Guyana National Service Association was the construction of a playground on the Carifesta Sports Complex. These efforts are specifically youth-oriented so that the children of Guyana have another child friendly space in the Kitty area where the complex is located.  Below are pics of of us painting and working but the official opening of the playground will be a few short hours from the time that I write this post on Friday August 24, 2012.

Team members painting the playground and teaching me cool techniques.

The team members here are driven by a deep faith and love for Guyana so another one of the major projects this summer was to partner with the Sisters of Mercy Convent and spend time with the boys of the St. John Bosco Boys Orphanage as well as the St. Ann’s Orphanage for girls with donated clothes and timely school supplies for the upcoming academic year. A picture of the convent is below the following description of the St. John Bosco Boys orphanage found on the site http://bosco_orphanage.tripod.com/history.htm:

“Founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by an heiress, Catherine McAuley, the MercyOrde [Sisters of Mercy]soon became the “fire-brigade” of the Church rushing in to serve, wnerever needed, “the dispossessed, the poor, sick, uneducated and all those who in any way were wounded by contemporary society”. Among the characteristic works undertaken by the Sisters of Mercy stress was laid on the education of the young, the care of the sick and the care of girls, ~men, the aged, and orphans. Hence the Sisters of Mercy could hardly refuse the request of Bishop T. Galton to look after Fr. Casati’s boys, and in 1902 the Orphanage was place under the care of Sr. Mary Joseph McLaughlin and Sr. M. Columba McLaughlin… The word “Orphanage” in regard to St. John’s is probably a misnomer. Fr. Casati’s original idea was to get the boys off the streets-suggesting they were “homeless” but not necessarily orphans in the strict sense of the word. Today the accent is on the care of “poor, neglected boys”. Sociological study made a few years ago by Rosaliene Fung indicated that the majority of boys were not orphans but were from families where then had been a general breakdown of the internal environment-in short, from broken homes-indeed a microcosm of society in Guyana. Obviously, as was pointed out in this study, and from our continuous observation of the boys within our care, the boys come with deep scars through badly divided homes, severe neglect, actual abandonment and sheer downright abuse Just recently a five year old was brought to the Orphanage with such scares. He was miserable and aggressive with distrust. Yet it did not take him long  to realise that he was loved and wanted and this aggressive attitude is fast disappearing.

The only criterion for accepting a boy in the Orphanage is NEED. Boys between the ages of 4 -14 of every race, colour and creed are taken in.  It was felt that to contribute to their psychological needs there should be a separate home where boys between the ages of 11 and 15 or 16 could be taught a trade and trained preferably by Brothers -a vision originally projected by Fr. Casati. In the 1950’s and 1960’s this was also the vision of Dr. J.A. Gomes who, together with other members of the S.V.P., worked towards this goal. However, for a number of reasons, mostly financial, this vision never materialized. The compromise was the opening of the David Rose Boys’ Hostel in Princes Street which gives accommodation to the boys of St. John’s when they leave the Orphanage at 14.”

My humble iphone snapshot of the Sisters of Mercy Convent where the St John Bosco Boy’s orphanage is located.

The boys that we visited were really inspiring and they specifically requested a lesson from me on how to do the American dance known as the “Jerk” after we played a game of “Simon Says” and did the “Chicken Dance.”  But without a doubt, the most smiles and positive feelings were related to Becky, the resident dog.  A picture of Becky and her friends is below:

Becky & friends! 🙂

The positivity of the Sisters of Mercy and their boys shows the resilience of the human spirit in atmospheres of love and care.

There’s still a lot more to report but until next time please keep praying for Guyana!