| Tourism potential of St. Cuthbert’s to be looked at- Amerindian Affairs Minister |  |  |  |
| Written by GINA |
| Sunday, 30 September 2012 22:38 |
AFTER a 45 minute journey by road from the Linden Soesdyke Highway on Saturday, Amerindian Affairs Minister, Pauline Sukhai and team reached the only Amerindian community in Region 4- St. Cuthbert’s Mission- to partake in Heritage activities. residents and visitors converged on the community to experience the celebrations.  Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai Minister Sukhai commended the residents and councillors for their efforts at sustaining such a vibrant activity annually. “Heritage is an important aspect of Amerindian lives…as you come and go to St. Cuthbert’s, the evidence of development is quite visible…,” Minister Sukhai said. The Amerindian Affairs Minister believes that even though the end of Heritage Month is at hand, the time for the celebration of heritage activities is not, as it is not only confined to one month, but rather is part of the lives of Amerindians. She added that this year’s Heritage Month theme: ‘Embracing our identity and celebrating our culture’, was importantly coined to bring  Craft on display at St. Cuthbert’s Mission “I am very happy that St. Cuthbert’s is taking up that very strong position of developing their community, despite many of the challenges they face from time to time,” Minister Sukhai said. She said that while she will look at the tourism potential that St. Cuthbert’s offers visitors, $1.5M will be pledged for the development of its culture. The community’s Toshao, Luke Simon, recalled when Amerindians were asking for a day as homage to their ancestry, and sometime later, the PPP/C administration thought it best to dedicate an entire month for that purpose, which he (Simon) strongly commended. “I must re-endorse my people’s support for the LCDS…we know that our government is doing all it can to make life  Children of the Mission perform a traditional dance The rehabilitation of the secondary and primary schools, the receipt of 43 laptops, the formation of the first ever Drainage and Irrigation group, along with a monthly supply of fuel, Simon listed as among what the community currently enjoys under his tenure, compliments of the current administration. “We here in St. Cuthbert’s are strongly focusing on preserving our culture and heritage…if we lose our language and tradition, we lose our identity; as such we are working diligently to preserve our knowledge,” Simon explained. The Toshao stated that classes are held daily with residents, especially the young people, and there are committees responsible for retaining traditional dances, and 80% of the ladies in the village are involved in handicraft.  The Mission’s choir in song at the opening ceremony for Heritage activities Toshao Simon believes that his village will be an ideal place for tourists to come and relax, hence his desire to further invest in the sector, specifically the construction of a guest house that will also transform the community. “I know for a fact that once we have an initiative like this, employment will also be created,” Simon explained. He asserted that government must be thanked for its outstanding work which has significantly boosted two critical areas: health and education. St. Cuthbert’s recently benefitted from a $25M initiative by former President Bharrat Jagdeo, who had promised to construct a road leading into the community from the Linden Soesdyke Highway. |