A group of explorers will begin journeying today into southernmost Guyana on a two-week expedition which will include the surveying of a 25-mile trail which it is hoped will improve the economy of the Wai Wai community of Masakenyari.
The team of 13 drawn from Britain and Colombia includes cartographers and doctors and will be led by renowned British explorer John Blashford-Snell. They will be accompanied by local guides and logistics personnel pushing the number to about 30 persons. Guyana Tourism Authority Director Indranauth Haralsingh yesterday introduced the explorer to the media at the Cara Lodge.
Blashford –Snell, who has been to Guyana several times and had previous engagements with the tribe, explained that he had received an email from them last year requesting help. He said a subsequent discussion with Major General (retd.) Joe Singh clarified their need.
“He explained that they were hoping to survey a trail for tractors and trailers from the Kuyuwini River to the Kassikaityu River and this would shorten the distance to the village of Masakenyari considerably; allow them to export their handicrafts and their agriculture products to help the economy of the group and also of course to bring in vital supplies.”
The general, who was also present at yesterday’s event, is a member of the UK-based Scientific Exploration Society which was founded by Blashford-Snell. The team will be heading to Lethem today and then on to Aishalton where they will split into three groups.
“The survey party is to go to the Kuyuwini and start surveying the trail for tractors and trailers with a minimum of disturbance to the forest, across to the Kassikaityu about 25 miles through the bush and helped by the locals. At the same time we’re sending another party by river down the Kuyuwini and up the Essequibo and then up the Kassikaityu carrying fuel and supplies,” the explorer said
The second team will join up with another group which will be flying in from Aishalton to Gunn’s Strip.
“At the end of it we hope to do as much medical work as we can. We have a dentist with the British Army with us, a young lady who has come from Cyprus. We also have a lady from the Elizabeth Foundation, a charity for deaf children because a number of the Wai Wais we discovered last time are born without ears,” the colonel said.
He added that they will see if it is possible to have operations done on those children so they can hear. The team has also brought spectacles for the older residents and plans to check the filtration system for the water supply at the community clinic. A 15 horsepower engine will also be handed over to the community.
The logistics for the trip are being handled by Wilderness Explorers while General Singh said he was merely the facilitator.
“I basically have been involved in facilitating the whole process, meeting with the Wai Wais about six months ago, sitting with them to ensure that they understood that we understood exactly what they wanted and that they in a sense were comfortable with what was being proposed.”
According to the general, consultation with the Wai Wais is a very involved process because “many of the words we use you have to tell a story so they can better understand and that process takes some time.”
Copies of the survey’s results will be presented to the Wai Wais and the general who will in turn make a formal submission to the government. He said it is hoped that the government will see the benefits of opening up the trail which he anticipates will have “no negative impact” on the environment.
Colonel Blashford-Snell said the actual survey is expected to last no longer than a week and the team is expected to return on October 20.
On previous trips to Guyana Blashford-Snell had brought in dentists and other doctors on a medical mission for the Wai Wais and had also provided them with a grand piano upon a request from a community official to help occupy the time of the youths. The last visit by Blashford-Snell was in 2002 when another team came in on a request from the community for the piano to be retuned.
