Education

Talking about education and the Canje River must be one of the most exhilarating, comedic, and transformative subjects of discussion for many of us Canjeans. Many of the brilliant minds who are products of the Canje River would tell the story of education from different perspectives, and though the variations may be as the east is from the west on many instances, I can assure you that the commonality will be equally compelling and intriguing.

Think of going to school “barefoot” (without shoes on your feet), and having to study or do your homework at night using a flambo, a clay bottle made by slaves, with diesel in it as oil, and a piece of crocros bag, or an old piece of cotton cloth as the wick, which produces a huge flame with black smoke at its end, or a “speak easy” lamp, most often made from a large marmite bottle with a hole punched in the middle of its cover, and the top of an evaporated milk tin being neatly rolled to accommodate a piece of used men’s vest, or any old piece of cotton cloth as the wick, with either kerosene oil or diesel as its source of flame sustenance. That is just but a sneak peak of the educational journey of the many teachers, nurses, pastors, educators, business men and women, computer technicians, journalists, and so many other career professionals, produced by this amazing place called the Canje River.

 Imagine children paddling in their canoes for over a mile to get to and from school, playing gingerly with the water of the river as they paddle along, sometimes for fun, catching the mora fruit floating on the river, or the kisskalala bearing drifting on the water, attaching the fruit to its shell, and holding it in the water to produce the simulation of an engine on a boat as your siblings paddle along, as a form of your entertainment. While this is my recollection of a part of the educational journey for many Canje River children, others may tell you a more intriguing story, which in any case, describes the mesmerizing tale about the humble beginnings of our school experience and educational journey. It is this jaw dropping backdrop that may leave you in awe, that forms the foundations for many of us who are now successful entrepreneurs and academic achievers scattered across the many developed countries of the world.

 I must admit that the Canje school experience is not unique to the children of Canje River, for our neighbors in the Berbice River, and the many other villages along the rivers of Guyana, would contend they share similar experiences. What is essential here, is the fact that the journey for the children of Canje, towards achieving an education is in itself an education, for it certainly prepares the young minds for the many challenges they will eventually encounter as they strive for academic success.

This story of education in the Canje River, cannot end without telling what the students of the villages Long Hook, and Tacuba to Tuanna had to endure. These students may one day tell their story in more detail, but for now, I believe they will allow me to share a portion of their experience. Every year, usually during the months of April to July, the grass along the river is cleared so as to prevent blockage of the river. However, it is probably one of the most dreaded periods in the lives of the people of the Canje, for the clearing (or cutting ) of the grass, blocks the river sometimes for miles, and for a significantly long period of time before the river is cleared again.

You may ask what this has to do with education? Well, since the river is the main source of transportation to get from one point to another, especially during the rainy season, the children who lives in the villages of Long Hook to Tuanna, have to morning and evening navigate the stop offs (blockage created in the river by the cleared grass) to get to and from school. Yet, despite this petrifying aspect of the educational journey for those children, they created amusement enough to entertain themselves daily. Those of us from the villages further up river, would emphatically tell you that there was nothing envious of our fellow Canjeans from those lower villages during this time. Not that we gloat over their dilemma, for this experience is nothing to wish upon anyone. The emphasis here is on the dangers and trouble the children had to endure in order to pursue their education. Fortunately, in spite of this rough and dangerous educational path for those children, many of them persevere to become excelling academic achievers. (You can look forward for a part 2 of this educational journey story).