“Kaimana’o kasarai wuru’u pidan dakatakinaowaz, ukaminka’uta pugaru na’iki ukazannaatan nii pugaru rinai koroonaa vairos ai.” These are the words spoken by Immaculata Casimero as she prepares to delve into a deep conversation with an elder who is skeptical about getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
In the Wapishana language, spoken by members of the Indigenous Wapichan Nation who populate the majority of the South Rupununi in Region Nine, they translate to “The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective.”
Casimero is a resident of Aishalton, an indigenous community located in the southwestern territory of Guyana where communication with the outside world has always proven to be a struggle. It was therefore no surprise that when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, little to no information on the virus was made available in the community, and the little that was, was in English.
