Story and photos by David Pappanah
Well known because it is home to Guyana’s premier beach, No 63 is a small village whose official name is No 63 Benab. Unsurprisingly it is bordered by No 64 village on the east and No 62 village on the west. The predominantly Indian village has a population of a little over two hundred and fifty people, although it houses the Tagore Memorial School, a telecoms exchange, Freedom House, the Water Users’ Association office, a post office, rice mill, a clothing store, variety shops, a play school, a nursery school, a church, the Sunnatul Jamaat, a beach hotel, a community centre ground and a Ministry of Agriculture building, most of which service the communities around, and not just No 63. The area falls under the No 52-74 NDC district.
The general area where No 63 is located is mainly a farming one, with rice farms, and on the smaller scale, kitchen gardens. Some people are self-employed or work with the farmers or with GuySuCo at the Skeldon estate. The neighbourhood is not one with heavy crime,
