BELVEDERE VILLAGE …a welcoming and ever expanding community

Jul 03, 2022 News

---

Village Focus

By Malisa Playter-Harry

Kaieteur News – With a population of just over 25,000 people, Belvedere is an intriguing village situated at East Berbice on the Corentyne highway, some 15 miles away from New Amsterdam.
With many old and new businesses, the community, which has grown over the years, consists of North and South Belvedere with the Anamayah Memorial Hospital (a private health institution) situated at a centralised location. This hospital has been in operation for over 10 years and offers a wide range of medical services. Medical services are also offered at the ‘Walter Singh’ Private Clinic which is located a short distance away.

Catering to the grocery and other needs of residents at an affordable cost is the ‘Emo’ Gas Station and Supermarket which, according to residents, is always filled with customers. This is owing to the fact that they consider it their most economical choice when purchasing retail or wholesale. Just a stone’s throw away is the ‘Good Life’ Chinese Supermarket.
Residents also have access to quality cuts of meat from two butcher shops – the D. Arjune Chicken Outlet and the Zeareat Ali’s Halaal Outlet – and several other businesses, including a car wash, snackettes, grocery and confectionary shops, liquor shops, barber shops.

While there are at least two new businesses under construction that are expected to soon open their doors, a business that has been in existence for decades in the community is the Matadeen Confectionary Shop and Western Union outlet.

Recently, the Waterfalls caught up with Aditya K. Matadeen, whose father owns the business. He revealed that the building, which doubles as their home and the business, was built some 69 years ago. The design of the structure, he said, has been preserved for over two generations because of its sentimental value.

Matadeen, who is a former student of the J.C. Chandisingh Secondary School in Port Mourant, said that it was his great grand-parents who first lived at the house and started the business which has grown considerably over the years. He added that since he has been living there, “Belvedere has transformed a lot from when I was growing up to now. Yes, there are a lot of places and buildings that are abandoned but the people that remain are very close-knitted and we try to support each other as much as we can.”

But according to Matadeen, things have become “rather busy recently” and “it has moved from being quiet, a few years ago, to a busier business-driven community.”
He said that he is excited about the new businesses now taking shape, especially a three-storey building near to his family’s property.

He is convinced that the building, said to be a hotel in the making, will help to boost the aesthetics of the area. Another building under construction is expected to house a new auto spare parts outlet and paint shop.

“Everybody is just trying to make a hustle basically, so there isn’t much to offer but what I would say is the friendliness and the support of the people, if anyone comes here, they will be greeted with an open arm and they will have a hospitable welcome and nobody, I don’t think anyone, will have a bad experience here if they come to stay,” Matadeen said with a smile.

Although the community has many businesses, like several other Berbice areas, many of the working-class residents have over the years been sugar estate workers.
Matadeen said that while the family’s business was doing well over the years, the impact of COVID-19 caused it to decline.

“It affected us tremendously because prior to COVID, business was going well so we had enough. We were stockpiling, basically we were buying a larger quantity of stocks and then COVID hit…it’s a slow recovery for us and for most of the businesses around the area that didn’t have any support from the government.”

Nevertheless, the business place remains a household name and is said to be the place to go to shop for all confectionaries and grocery items. The Western Union section is used daily by customers for remittance services. They can also purchase credit for their Guyana and Power Light Inc. pre-paid meters.

Cultural extravaganza
However, what is well known and is usually executed every year, much to the delight of hundreds of Berbicians, is the cultural show held by the Matadeens. The show is usually done on the front lawns of their premises the day before Diwali. It includes cultural Indian dancing, singing and the sharing of sweet meat, at no cost to members of the public.
With sponsorship from the business community, the event, which was started back in the day by Matadeen’s grandparents, grew in magnitude over the years. In fact, Matadeen said that pre-pandemic, it had grown so much that it was held at the Hampshire/Belvedere Centre Ground. The event has not been hosted in two years, but the family, Matadeen said, is hoping to get things back in action soon.

“Most of it we do on our own and we have good support from the local people, the villagers, the mandirs, they contribute and they volunteer their time and their service to make it a success and it has become a success because we had relocated it to a bigger venue,” he related with pride.

A few doors from the Matadeens’ business place is the residence of 64-year-old Jewan Abbensetts. During The Waterfalls’ visit, he was relaxing in his wooden swing under his home. According to the man, he has been living in the village since 1978 with his wife, who because of ill health passed away about a month ago. Abbensetts said that the house in which he lives was acquired by his father who migrated. He said that when he got married he and his wife moved into it.

He mentioned that he did many odd jobs but in 1982, he was hired at the estate and worked there until he reached the age of retirement. He is now collecting a pension but said he enjoyed working in various capacities at the estate – including in the factory and as a security guard.

He described his village as “a nice and quiet area” which has been seeing many new faces and businesses as the years go by.

Over at Belvedere North, a barber, Dinesh Deoprashad, who is also attached to the estate, said that he has been cutting hair for about 13 years now and does it when he is not working at the estate.
He said people from within the community, and others as well, come to his shop to have their hair cut and eyebrows lined. The young man, who takes pride in what he does, said that he enjoys his craft since he gets to meet different people.

“Everywhere you go got a different blend of people, it got good people, it got bad people, but everybody lives well,” said Deoprashad, a father of three, who says that he plans on expanding his business.

But while the community and its people live in harmony, he noted that the drains need cleaning, a task the Neighbourhood Democratic Council undertakes with alacrity when government officials signal their plans to visit.

Several streets are currently in a deplorable state and these, according to residents, have been neglected for several years. They are nevertheless optimistic that more attention will be paid to their community in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 

---

---