Learning and belonging!

Let's meet indigeneous and tribal communities of Suriname! 

Work has been so great so far. I feel so privileged to be assigned in a role and a project where I am in an incredibly unique advantage to work across teams and alongside many experienced individuals in the joint programme initiative. It has afforded me the experience to further my industry knowledge in such a short span of time as I meet and work with many people and learn about their roles and agencies.

Village leaders of indigeneous villages
board members of VIDS

                                                                                                    We have finally arrived at, what I feel has been the most fulfilling  part of my summer and work, the village visits. The participatory  component of my work responsibilities. Part of my work described tasks involve participation and engagement with the local Indigenous and Tribal communities. There were several village visits over the course of the week.  Together with an international consultant working for UNDP and a national consultant we, the technical team, spent the day at an Indigenous village.  The community’s name is ‘Hollandse Kamp’ which is located in Paramaribo close to the international airport. We were greeted by the Director of Regional and Sports development and two village chiefs and members of the association of village leaders of Suriname also known as VIDS. 

Hollandse Kamp, Paramaribo, Suriname

Grateful to the national consultant who had offered to be a translator for both the international consultant and me. Most of the nation speaks Dutch and Sranan Tongo, the local language, amongst a multitude of various languages. Prior to the engagements, I was briefed that the Indigenous and Tribal communities may feel more comfortable speaking in the local language or in Dutch. The day spent at the indigenous village was quite an insight trip. It was a proximately 45-minute drive from the UN House and was rather a hot day. We spent most of our time in the main quarters of the village which I believe is the main meeting area for village functions and meetings. The sands is a beautiful white shade in this region and skies were blue. It almost felt as if I was in the Carribean. For a second forget I was there for work and not leisure purposes. Both leaders expressed their need for the issue of land rights and demarcations to be addressed and resolved by government. Often without the reform of policy related to land rights, the communities are left vulnerable to third parties and contractors working on what they've known to be their land for generations. The chiefs also shared some hopeful viewpoints on what they wish for their people and communities in the future; the leaders expressed their hopes to receive projects involving the development of recreational activities in the village such as volleyball areas and a football field. We sat and listened to the pride in which these leaders spoke about their heritage and particularly the Capteng of Hollands Kamp highlighted his wish for traditional skills of indigenous people to be transferred to the youth so as it is not lost. He elaborated on that his father makes great pottery using specific clay and materials. By resources and tools With the support from government and third parties he would like to start training in traditional skills which could be transferred and taught to the youth. This is incredibly intricate and expensive exercise for the village leaders to facilitate alone without assistance. By the end of the session we thank the chiefs for welcoming us an sharing such helpful information with the team  shared a meal together and ate an indigenous meal called ‘pepre watra’ which is pepper soaked fish soup dish served over rice or with cassava bread which was possibly my favourite meal so far. 

Pepre watra and cassava bread

The second village we travelled to the following week was a Maroon village, of the Njduka people. This Village was near the border of French Guiana, and it took us 2.5 hours to travel there by car. Once we arrived, I was pleasantly surprised at how the Chief leader had members of the community to join the meeting and the conversation of the day. Once settled we went ahead and introduced ourselves. It was my turn to stand and introduce myself and I was slightly confused to see so many community members smile and nod in excitement. After my introduction I heard a roar of laughter and cheer coming from the community members and heard the response “AHH Sarafina! Our Sarafina!”. For many that may not know Sarafina is a well-known musical set during the Apartheid regime. It is about a confident high school girl struggling for freedom in South Africa who then leads her fellow students in a protest in the streets. This is a very popular movie, however, I could have not imagined that an village in Suriname would know and reference 'Sarafina'. Because of the movie my name for the rest of the day was Sarafina as the uncles in the community asked me questions about South Africa and asked me to come back with my family, Uncle Didi in specific asked if my mother was married and that I should ask for him the next time I come visit with my family. I made sure to let my father know he has competition in Suriname. The experience in the community was incredibly heartwarming and I felt a sense of family and belonging. An experience and feeling I will never forget.  The key points shared by this community was the need better access to clean water and the need for agricultural machinery that will aid in small scale farming as their hands are not strong enough to dig in the hard surface soil. Members of the community shared their interest in growing the agriculture and cultivating enough to eventually produce enough goods to sell to neighbouring villages and communities. The chief offered to show us around the village, and we got to see the burial site of where the bodies are prepared for burial. We were taken around to see the creek nearby and the hall where women prepare the food considering village led preceding’s. 

The JP LNOB technical team,
The Ndjuka People, Uncle Didi right behind me.

Learning about the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples has been such an enriching experience. From their traditional dishes to conversing about what their daily activities consist of. From the way they collect water, to all the women cooking together to make the delicious meals served to us, the scenic creeks and the sense of belonging is what resonates with me the most. Communities that strive to work together to achieve better livelihoods for themselves. The Tribal and Indigenous Peoples make up the minority of the population yet make up a large percentage of the low income communities who are most vulnerable to socio economic changes in the nation. The communities contribute greatly to the history and the rich culture that thrives through this beautiful nation. I am grateful to have met all the people I have and to be apart of a project aimed at supporting and addressing the structural exclusion and vulnerabilities faced by the communities.