ACDA is honouring African presence in Guyana

Jul 27, 2025 News

From Burkino Faso to Buxton…

ACDA is honouring African presence in Guyana

The map and flag identifying Burkina Faso

Kaieteur News – The African Cultural & Development Association (ACDA) is honouring the presence of Africans in Guyana, drawing inspiration from the cultural roots of our West African ancestry in Burkino Faso all the way to Buxton on the East Coast of Demerara.

To commemorate emancipation each year, ACDA celebrates an African country annually because most Guyanese of African descent cannot trace their ancestral roots to a particular African Nation.

In choosing a particular African country to highlight every year, ACDA seeks to educate young and old about African countries and to remind them that Africa has 54 countries and is not a single country like China or India or the United States.

Traditionally, ACDA honours an African country every Emancipation Festival by building an educational booth for that country.

However, this year 2025, the focus will be Burkina Faso. A country with a very rich African influence, history and culture, will proudly be showcased during the observance of this Emancipation, as we explore our glorious past.

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa; whose current leader has recently brought a lot of attention to this country bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest.

Burkino Faso is known as the land of the flying masks

A cultural depiction of Burkino Faso

It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,878 sq mi). In 2024, the country had an estimated population of approximately 23,286,000. Previously called the Republic of Upper Volta (1958–1984), it was renamed Burkina Faso by then-president Thomas Sankara. Its citizens are known as Burkinabes, and its capital and largest city is Ouagadougou.

The largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso is the Mossi people, who settled the area in the 11th and 13th centuries.

They established powerful kingdoms such as Ouagadougou, Tenkodogo, and Yatenga. The economy is largely agricultural; it is geographically biodiverse, and includes plentiful reserves of gold, manganese, copper and limestone. Due to its multicultural make-up, Burkinabè art has a rich and long history, and is globally renowned for its orthodox style.

For Emancipation 2025, ACDA will also honour the village of Buxton, on the East Coast of Demerara, primarily inhabited by people of African descent.

The village founded in 1840 by 128 formerly enslaved Africans who pooled their resources to purchase the plantation “New Orange Nassau”.

They named the village Buxton in honour of abolitionist Thomas Fowell Buxton and where many prominent Guyanese have called home including Bro. Eusi Kwayana who has officially become a centenarian this year. Buxton was the second village established by Africans in British Guiana; the village was later joined with its sister village, Friendship, forming Buxton-Friendship.

According to ACDA, Buxton is known for its rich history, including its role in the Village Movement where freed slaves established independent communities. Buxton played a key role in the Village Movement, where formerly enslaved people purchased land and built their own communities. It also became a center for agricultural production and self-governance. The theme for this year Emancipation activities is “Highlighting the connection of all peoples through African culture as we strive to build a world where all our children are loved and protected”.

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ACDA, African, African Cultural, Burkino Faso

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