Guyana impressions

By Fr. Russ Sampson S.F.M.
April 2000

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(Credit: Susan Eijsenck)
Fr. Russ Sampson waits at the stelling (wharf) in the town of Rosignol to catch the ferry across the Berbice River back to New Amsterdam, Guyana.

When working in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the early 70s, I had the opportunity and the blessing to visit Guyana (Land of Many Rivers). The first time in 1972 was a memorable visit with a group of Vincentians and Fr. George Bardowell for a Cursillo retreat. The second visit was on the occasion of a regional conference for priests.

Little did I realize during those visits in 1972 and 1974 that I would find myself working in Guyana in the 1990s.

After serving for two and a half years on Scarboro Missions’ General Council, I received my first assignment to Guyana in the latter part of 1992. I went to work in the Essequibo/Pomeroon region with Fr. Albert Felix. I had to remember that this was a different culture compared to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and although there were some similarities, there were also many differences. The reality of the six different races in Guyana, and the vastness of the country and the interior, made quite an impact on me.

There were many active communities on the Essequibo Coast and the Pomeroon River. Each week Fr. Felix and I alternated our responsibilities; one week on the coast and the next week on the river. The people were open, friendly and always ready to participate in the life of the Church.

Even before arriving in Guyana I was aware of the energy that this diocese had put into the formation of lay people along the coastal regions and in the interior of Guyana. In particular, the vitality of the Parish Lay Assistants (PLA) program, pioneered in Guyana, gave meaning to our lives and the future of the Church in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

In 1994, after a year back in Canada, serving in the town of Guelph, Ontario, I was reassigned to Guyana. My task was to take over from Fr. Ken MacAulay whose gifts were needed by Scarboro’s Mission Information Department in Canada. Since 1994 I have been working and blessed in many ways here at the Church of the Ascension in New Amsterdam, Berbice, where many of our priests have worked in the past.

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