About

One year in Georgetown, Guyana as a Volunteering Advocacy Advisor to civil society and government in partnership with VSO.

This is my blog about my day to day life during this experience. Whether that be work, or play, I will be posting on here the highs (and hopefully not too many lows) of my time here.

If you are interested more specifically in finding out about the work I am doing here, I will be posting a monthly blog on the Involve (UK public participation charity) website, looking at civic participation and the links that can be made to the UK. I will hopefully be able to draw some interesting comparisons, recommendations and learnings that will be relevant to a global audience.

Guyana is a beautiful, fascinating country with a rich mix of cultures and landscapes. As you may know geographically it is part of South America, yet historically, culturally and politically it has more in common with the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean. It has large areas of relatively unspoiled tropical forests and savannahs but also tremendous challenges, and potential wealth. The level of external debt is hampering the process of national development and the lack of skilled personnel in crucial areas, further aggravated by a dramatic migration of skilled people seeking better opportunities abroad.

Georgetown, the capital where I am living and working is a weird and wonderful place. Completely manic in parts and completely dead in others. Part surrounded by river, part by sea, and part by countryside. The Market  and the main shopping area are completely crazy, but have a real buzz about them and are a real part of the city and culture I am living in. Within the city there is also a botanical garden and a national park which is provides green space to relax in which is great. As well as the Sea Wall, where one can go to lime…but doesn’t really match up to the city beaches of Rio or Barcelona! The whole city is complete contradictions…there is vast poverty as well as relatively high levels of wealth reflected in (near) immaculate colonial buildings and gated houses. With the opportunity to travel to the interior on vacation and for long weekends, it is definitely a really enjoyable place to live – and so far I am really loving it.

For more information on VSO’s programmes in Guyana, please see the VSO website.

For more information on travelling Guyana, I highly recommend the Bradt Guide.