The Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo) contingent to the PNC/R’s congress made it to Georgetown a tired bunch but with spirits soaring, after four days of travelling along the hazardous Lethem-Linden road.
The group arrived at PNC headquarters, Congress Place, around 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and was greeted with a tumultuous welcoming applause, which moved many of them to tears.
Covered with red loam and mud from their journey along the road, members of the group stood in the conference hall and soaked in the standing ovation they received from the other PNC delegates who had already arrived from all over the country for the party’s 13th biennial congress.
The Region Nine contingent comprised 18 women and seven men. They arrived on the second morning of the three-day congress and one woman told Stabroek News that throughout the hardships experienced on the journey, no one thought about turning back.
“The only thing that bothered us, and we prayed, was that we did not want to miss our leader’s address,” she said.
Head of the contingent, William Toney, said the majority of his group came from Lethem, Aranaputa Valley, Aishalton and Kumu.
The group left Lethem on Tuesday, August 13.
“I would describe the trip as being a very rough one. It’s been one year since I’ve travelled to Georgetown by road and the deterioration since then is beyond my expectation,” he said.
Toney, who is also a member of the Regional Democratic Council of Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo and a farmer, said the group slept at Aranaputa Valley on the night of August 13, 110 kilometres away from Lethem.
They departed at 5:00 am the next day and passed through Annai, North Rupununi, and headed towards the Kurupukari crossing. But 50 kilometres away from Annai the journey took a turn for the worse. The truck they were travelling in encountered a massive hole filled with slush mud, and although the vehicle had four-wheel drive and high elevation it became stuck. It took two-and-a-half hours for the truck to manoeuvre out of the hole.
The women pitched in and assisted to break small branches, which they placed under the wheels so that the truck could get enough traction to get out. “The women were an inspiration during the trip. They really kept us going, all the time saying we would not give up,” Toney said.
Just 200 metres away a similar hole was encountered and the same process was repeated. When they eventually got out of the second hole, the truck’s deferential began to experience problems. Checks revealed that the problems were due to the slush mud, sand and water, which had caused the bearings to seize up. The group was delayed another hour and a half.
They proceeded onwards and had to carefully manoeuvre across the treacherous bridge spanning Mushparu Creek, more commonly known as Mango Tree Creek.
Toney said another truck laden with cargo had recently plunged off the bridge while travelling to Georgetown. He said the bridge was poorly designed and was very dangerous. They managed to cross safely only to be met by a crater-sized hole with slush mud, four feet deep.
All their efforts could not get the truck out of the hole so the group had to settle in and wait, hoping that another vehicle would come along to help them out.
Another truck eventually came along and winched their vehicle out of the hole. By this time, late in the evening, the truck’s deferential gave up.
They managed to make it to about five kilometres from Kurupukari landing with the assistance of a deferential bearing borrowed from the driver of the truck who had assisted them.
They slept the night there. The women who had hammocks tied them up under the canopy of truck. Three men slept atop the canopy. Others were strewn about the floor of the vehicle. Yet some more had to sleep in a seated position. By this time the food had run out.
Those who could, drank from a creek where the water was not very clean.
The following morning, the group walked to Kurupukari where they were hospitably received and were given snacks. There they secured the services of another truck, which had been parked there for a week after experiencing similar conditions along the road on the way to Georgetown. Toney said it took some convincing to get the driver to return to their vehicle and pull it along.
From then onwards, the contingent piggybacked with another truck passing through when they crossed the Essequibo River. About 20 water pools were encountered along the way but the other truck pulled their vehicle through all of them.
At Mabura, the vehicle developed another bearing problem but it managed to reach Wismar where the engine overheated. The water pump bearing had to be changed and the truck then limped along to Georgetown.
It was a great relief when they arrived at Congress Place, Toney said. “We all appreciated the resounding welcome we received. We were really moved by it,” he stated.
The group leader said the hardships of the journey did not dim the enthusiasm of the members of the contingent. He said they all looked forward to the working sessions of the congress even though they regretted missing the opening session and the speech of their leader, Desmond Hoyte.