Doctor Bush – A place once populated by doctors.

Jan 01, 2023 News

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Village Focus…

By: Malisa Renada Playter Harry

Kaieteur News – I am quite sure that many of you do not know of the small village named Doctor Bush. This community is a village within Albion, Corentyne, Berbice, and comprises of just over 15 families.
Located along the Albion Estate road, Doctor Bush is said to be unpopular and is often times forgotten, according to some residents. But do you know why the village is called Doctor Bush? Residents said based on old stories told, the entire community once consisted of doctors who worked at the Albion Estate dispensary, when Guyana was under British rule. The people during that era considered the health institution a hospital that served residents from across the lower Corentyne; hence the name Doctor Bush.

As you enter the main cross street, you cannot miss the Hindu temple, which is attended by the majority of the residents who are mostly Hindus. It is an integral part of their life since they make sure they attend weekly services and also volunteer at the Mandir, by either cooking or assisting in cleaning it.

Hema Suklall, 29, has been living in Doctor Bush for 10 years and noted that her community is very quiet with mostly relatives populating it. She added that there are a lot of vacant houses because persons migrated.

Suklall said most of the persons are employed at the Albion Estate that is located a few minutes away. For her, the villagers are very supportive, especially when there is a function at the Mandir.

“How you find they support because there is a Mandir here and if there is a function, you would see people come out and help, if there is a programme they would come out and help…the people are very religious here…”

She added that one of the interesting things about the village was that it once had a huge farm with a farm house where officers from NAREI would visit, but since the last major flooding, it was destroyed and no grant was given to help get it back up and running. The farm she said was a means to earn a living since a variety of cash crops were grown and sold at the local market. There was also a greenhouse in place, “we take down the greenhouse; we grew like celery, lettuce, sweet pepper etc and after the flood, we applied for the flood relief but we never get call…”

A normal day for Suklall, sees her preparing her kids for school and preparing lunch for her husband. When they are sent off, the remainder of the day is spent quietly at home.

Further down the street, I caught up with Kabir Azeez who has been living in the village with his partner for just about 3 years. He is a welder at the Albion Estate who enjoys his job because it’s close to home and he makes a decent living while also doing it on the side when time is available to him.

Azeez said since he has been living in the village, there has been no development, the streets remain the same and the drainage is in a miserable state. He added that only recently, a few streetlights were erected.

As it relates to the drainage, he mentioned that when it rains “all the water flows over the drain and into the yards because there is no way to lead it out, both sides, where the drain suppose to go across into the trench, the street block it…”

Despite those issues, he said the people and the community is very nice. He enjoys the serenity of the village and said that based on what he was told about the history of the village, “it was a village for doctors, it had bigger houses…it was like a hospital in the British time where the finance office at the estate is now…

He opined, “is like this village don’t exist sometimes but it’s nice here man…”

Notably visible were the many abandoned houses that are either in a dilapidated state or overrun with vines.

My eyes caught on to a sign reading, “Dhall Puri For Sale”. A lover of the treat, I was told the person residing where the sign was placed made some of the best dhall puri around.

Gaitree Mohan called ‘Joany’ said she has been making her delicious dhall puris to sell or to supply the Mandir for about a year now. She added that it was never a lingering idea but one day, she was asked by a member of the Mandir to cook fried rice for a religious function, she did and it was a hit! They praised her cooking skills and so now, she is a regular cook volunteering and supplying the Mandir.

She thought about making and selling dhall puri and decided to give it a try. While she does not do it on a large-scale, she does brisk business.  She also takes orders.

“I love cooking,” she said with a bright smile on her face. All her puris were sold out when I arrived, but I am quite sure they taste delicious.

Although she said that she loves her community, she mentioned that she endures quite a lot from a neighbour and is scared for her safety and that of her family. She mentioned that the neighbour who is often intoxicated would curse or threaten her and at one point placed a cutlass at her husband’s throat. She had to call the Albion Police several times but her calls always fell on deaf ears.

“When he kill me then dem go show up”, she said angrily. She believes that the police should be taking matters such as these seriously since they can escalate and get worse.

“Night and day this guy curses me, I am tired going to the station to make a report and they always say, they will come and they never come…”

She added that it’s not like it was before, since a lot of new persons are now living in the village. According to her, many of the people keep to themselves.

She said she lives and keeps her peace. For the Christmas, she said her grandchildren came over and spent the holidays with her and their grandfather.

Everyone said that they all had a very quiet Christmas and Boxing Day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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