Latest update April 25th, 2026 12:35 AM
Latest News
- GMIN tightening grip on Guyana’s gold through 10% in another Canadian firm
- Wales gas project contractor accused of revolving corruption and financial deception
- We need justice for Adriana Younge!
- Oil rises above $106 per barrel as U.S., Iran deadlocked in Strait of Hormuz
- APNU flays Govt. over delayed GTE project as bills grow and benefits remain distant
Life today in New Forest, East Canje
Dear Editor,
Migration over the years has hit the tiny East Canje Berbice community of New Forest, located some 30 minutes drive from the town of New Amsterdam, as its name suggests, amidst a forested area.
The area is the final one which exists along the East Canje corridor just after Gangaram Settlement. New Forest is spread along the Canje Creek, a tributary of the Berbice River.
On a recent visit by this letter writer to the community, which is populated with just about 25 families, water is the major concern of residents there.
In several interviews with residents of New Forest, the area was a heavily populated and one buzzing with activity back in the day. The Zorg Primary School, according to one resident, was populated with over 300 children during the PNC days.
Today, the school just has about 20 children with two teachers. The area, one resident said, was populated by the Dutch and had several coffee estates as well as rubber factories and rubber plantations several decades ago.
I sat down with an elderly resident, who has been residing in the area for over 50 years. He said that he enjoys life in his village but that the area has a severe water-related problem. The pump station, he said, was constructed under the present administration.
The officials made an agreement with residents in that they would have to find their own pump operator/attendant, fuel and such to operate the station. But, over time, he said, persons have left the village in search of a better life elsewhere.
The pump station was taken out of operation and potable water was virtually non- existent. He said brand-new pipelines were laid throughout the village.
He is dissatisfied, though, that two security guards are stationed at the pump and are paid, according to him, a combined sum of $600, 000 a year by the government, money, which he said is wasted to pay for security for a structure which has not been in operation for quite some time now.
Their main source of water, according to the resident, is the Canje Creek. According to the senior citizen, it is impossible to use the water from the source “when the river run salt, and when it’s not salt it’s mud”.
He stated that GuySuCo would usually take water into the community once per week but there is not a fixed time or schedule, so if residents have gone out, they miss out on the opportunity to collect some drinking water.
There is a reasonably passable road to access this community. There are lots of turns and bridges, presumably built and maintained by the Guyana Sugar Corporation.
The corporation also has a drainage pump in the area and a power station at the far end of the village as well which sends power to the pump.
Due to its sparse population and remote location, New Forest does not have electricity, or health services.
The residents say that they would quickly seek assistance out on the main East Canje areas should there be a health emergency.
“Many people have connections to villages outside East Canje,” they said. They are also not fearful of any illegal activities in the area. Crime is virtually non-existent, they say.
Let’s hope some ease can come to the residents with regards to the water situation as this is a commodity which sustains the very life of any people.
What was once a thriving farming community, especially in the area of cattle farming, is today a meagerly populated area with low-scale farming and nothing much to do but to relax and enjoy the quietness and sounds of the animals and birds and, now and again, the traveling speedboats from the nearby creek.
That is what life is like today in New Forest, a district people know very little about, but where small pockets of our people, like many other communities inhabit and make a living, and refuse to occupy the mainland — where there is the hubbub of activity and enterprise — mainly because they have grown accustomed to their simple lives. They wouldn’t have it any other way.
Leon Jameson Suseran
Share this:
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.