Victoria Village celebrates 178th Anniversary

Nov 09, 2017 News

In November 1839, 83 ex-slaves came together to purchase Plantation Northbrook. They paid 30,000 Guilders. After acquiring their own land, the ex-slaves renamed the area Victoria.

Government officials among the audience at the flag raising ceremony.

On Monday last [November 6, 2017], the Victoria Youth Development Organisation (VYDO) held its first Flag Raising Ceremony to commemorate the 178th Anniversary of ‘First Village’. The ceremony was held at the junction of Kingston Street and Middle Walk, Victoria, East Coast Demerara. It lasted the better part of two hours.
It was held under the theme, ‘Celebrating our Ancestors Achievement and Embracing our Culture’.
Among the attendees was Mr. Aubrey Norton, Presidential Advisor on Youth Empowerment; Dr. Karen Cummings, Minister within the Ministry of Public Health; and Dr. George Norton, Minister of Social Cohesion.
The event featured a wide range of cultural activities. There were folk songs, poetry, African drumming and masquerade dancing. There was also a religious dance by the Ambassadors of God Church in Victoria and a drum corps performance by the Seventh Day Adventist Drum Corps.
Mr Aubrey Norton spoke about developing Guyanese youths socially, physically and economically. He emphasised that young people can do great things. “Tonight is a manifestation of the fact that when young people are given opportunities and treated as human resource to develop, they deliver,’’ he stated.
President David Granger was unable to attend the celebration as the guest speaker. It was Minister George Norton who filled the void. He expressed his gratitude to be present at the event.
In his speech he touched on the name of the ‘First Village’, a topic that is often debated among villagers. He said that after the abolition of slavery, when the 83 ex-slaves pooled money to buy the then Plantation Northbrook, they renamed the area Victoria in 1839 in honour of England’s Queen Victoria.
Dr. Norton added that the village should be named something that reflects the African culture of the village. As such, he speculated that there will be the possibility of an opening for a name change of the village.
The Minister of Social Cohesion attracted resounding applause from a majority of the 200-plus audience.
A part of the crowd seemed slightly agitated when midnight passed and the flag was not yet hoisted. Due to some delays including a downpour, the flag was eventually raised some minutes after 12am. While the flag was being raised, the Victoria Seventh Day Adventist Church choir led the audience in singing the National Anthem.
The faces of members of the audience as the Victoria Village Flag and the Golden Arrowhead (Guyana National Flag) were raised, was one of pride and respect. The flags were raised on two poles donated to the VYDO by a welder in the Village who constantly supports the group.
President of the VYDO, Anthony Samuels, offered some insight into the organisation. The VYDO officially started on May 1, 2017, shortly after Samuels would have graduated from a youth leadership training programme under Aubrey Norton’s Leadership.
The group is a volunteer organisation that has over 20 youths as members. It targets youths in the community to develop them physically, socially and mentally.
Since its formation, the group has spearheaded a number of activities in the village which includes village clean-ups to promote a healthy environment and sporting events to get villagers involved in physical activity which they believe is important.
Also, the group holds Social Cohesion sessions every Saturday in the village to promote unity among villagers. Samuels and his team had been working on the Flag Raising Ceremony for quite some time. (Akeasha Boodie)

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