Cover photograph by Louis Rushmore. Cover design by Betty Burton Choate.
Volume 93
Guyana is a parliamentary republic. The May 2015 national vote in Guyana resulted in the first change of ruling party, with the election of David Granger, since the country gained its independence from Great Britain in 1966. The US $1 (USD) equals approximately $206.6 Guyanese dollars (GYD). Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America, though additional languages spoken there include languages of India, Guyanese Creole, Amerindian dialects and Chinese. Though English is spoken by all, especially remote, isolated villages commonly resort to tribal languages in the absence of English-speakers. Guyana has a tropical, hot, humid environment as it sits near and above the equator. It has two rainy seasons, May through August and November through January. Most of the country is forested (77.4%). Guyana is adjacent to Suriname, Brazil, Venezuela and the Atlantic Ocean. The nation’s population of 735,909 (July 2016) is comprised of East Indians (39.8%)—descendants of indentured servants from India to British colonists, Africans (29.3%), mixed races (19.9%), Amerindians (10.5%)—the indigenous population—and other ethnicities (.05%). A greater number of Guyanese live abroad (55%), chiefly in Canada, the USA, Great Britain and Caribbean nations, often in pursuit of economic improvement. One third of the population is considered to be living below “the poverty line,” and unemployment is rampant. Over 80% of well-educated and economically advantaged citizens have emigrated from Guyana. Though rich in natural resources, the distribution of wealth does not benefit the general populace. The country is rich in bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, sugarcane, shrimp and fish. Subsequently, it exports sugar, gold, bauxite, alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum and timber—chiefly to the USA (33%), Canada (17.9%), UK (6.7%), Ukraine (4.3%) and Jamaica (4%). It imports manufactured products, machinery, oil and food—chiefly from the USA (24.7%), Trinidad and Tobago (24.3%), China (10.8%) and Suriname (9.5%). Guyanese love America and everything American. Only 11 of the 106 airports within Guyana are paved. Most of the paved roads (367 miles) are within an hour’s drive of the Atlantic coastal area, and the balance of the roads (4,952 miles) are unpaved—many of which are nearly impassible logging roads. Consequently, navigable waterways are a primary means of transportation—many able to accommodate ocean freighters far upstream. Guyana has seaports as well as river ports. Three of the largest rivers are the Berbice, the Demerara and the Essequibo—the last being 20-miles wide at its mouth where it meets the Atlantic Ocean, and there are hundreds of islands in it, many of which that are habitable. Guyana is a land of many waters. Guyana is a religious country, known for many varying offerings: Pentecostal (22.8%), Adventist (5.4%), Anglican (5.2%), Methodist (1.4%), Hindu (24.8%), Catholic (7.1%), Muslim (6.8%), Jehovah’s Witnesses (1.3%), Rastafarian (.5%), miscellaneous additional Christian claims (20.8%), other religions (.9%) and non-religious (3.1%). The number of congregations of the churches of Christ fluctuate with closures as well as with the establishment of new churches; there are over 100 churches of our Lord in Guyana. The souls of Guyana are valuable (Matthew 16:26). Christians have an obligation to reach out to the lost everywhere with the Gospel—including in Guyana (Mark 16:15-16). Guyanese are religious overall despite widespread sin (Acts 17:22-23)—not uncommon anywhere, including in the USA. Guyanese will study the Scriptures (Acts 17:11), and many are hungry and thirsty for God’s Word (Matthew 5:6). Guyana is a worthy land in which the Lord’s people from abroad ought to continue sowing the seed among non-Christians and watering the growth of that Word of God within honest hearts—leading to a bumper crop of spiritual harvest (1 Corinthians 3:6; John 4:35). Given the encouragement and the tools, Guyanese Christians will arise to the occasion to participate in the evangelization of their own country.
The Voice of Truth International
Guyana, South America
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The
Volume Ninety-Three
oice of Truth
International