‘Mother of all villages’ for grand anniversary celebration
─ villages along East Coast of Demerara corridor to participate
─ National Day of Villages is a day to be celebrated by all
DPI, Guyana, Friday, November 1, 2019
Guyana and the rest of the world will, on November 9, see the evolution of the ‘mother of all villages’ Victoria, over the last 180 years.
A host of activities is planned to commemorate the highly anticipated event, which will mark the 180th year since former slaves purchased the village.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Hon. Basil Williams SC., is the Chairman of the Village Day Committee. Today, he updated the media on preparations for the event.
It was disclosed that one of the highlights of the day’s activities would be booths showcasing products from the village.
Preparations being carried out by the Victoria Village Day Committee are moving apace and, according to Anthony Samuels, President of the Victoria Youth Development Organisation, everything will be completed for the big celebration.
President of the Victoria Youth Development Organisation, Anthony Samuels.
Among the works for the big celebration, include rehabilitation of the roads leading to the main venue – the community ground, the construction of a bridge for an emergency exit and the installation of floodlights to facilitate the programme which will begin at 7:00 pm.
The celebration will be held under the theme “Magnifying our African ancestry, celebrating our cultural diversity.”
According to Minister Williams, the village movement is very important to Guyana.
Chairman of the Village Day Committee, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Hon. Basil Williams SC.
“I would use this platform to urge citizens across Guyana to recapture that spirit of cooperation which existed among their forefathers. This event, the national day of villages, should be seen as a catalyst to reflect on their role in the unification, encouraging entrepreneurship and force for development within their communities and country as a whole.”
He said the National Day of Villages is a day to be celebrated by all. It is a reminder to the citizens, whose forefathers of the six races were either enslaved or worked and toiled to build Guyana, from slavery to indentureship towards emancipation and present day.
It was His Excellency, President David Granger who, in August 2016, declared that November 7 of that year would be “National Day of Villages.” The November date was chosen as it commemorated the day the freed Africans began the village movement in 1839.
The village movement was formed after former slaves pooled their money to purchase plantations across Guyana. Apart from Victoria, some other villages bought included Buxton and Friendship on the East Coast of Demerara, with Lichfield, Golden Grove, St John and Providence on the West Coast of Berbice.