Charity is a small township in

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, located in the

Pomeroon-Supenaam Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region 2) is a region of Guyana. Venezuela claims the territory as part of Guayana Esequiba. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the region of Essequibo Islands-West Demerara to the east, the region of Cuyuni-Mazaruni ...

Region No.2, which is part of the Essequibo County. The government of Charity is managed by the Charity/Urasara Neighbourhood Democratic Council. Charity has a recently constructed Magistrate’s Court. St Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church is in Charity, Afro Alfonso, a businessman in the area, established Charity’s only five-story structure, a landmark in the area. The fish port at Charity buys from fishermen and sells to the domestic and international markets.

History

In 1640, the area was settled by the Dutch as part of Pomeroon. The cotton

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

Vryden Hope was located at present day Charity. The plantation was later abandoned and in 1840 resettled by Portuguese as a coffee plantation. In 1908, the government of British Guiana bought the lands and started constructing a road along the coast. In 1928, a medical centre opened which was converted to a hospital in 1935.

Charity Market

Charity has a market each Monday, and hosts more than 300 vendors. Most of the produce sold at the market come from the surrounding Essequibo Coast and Pomeroon areas, and merchants from Georgetown sell wares as well. In 2012, tarmacs were installed to improve the market, but merchants have been slow to move due to perception that street side locations are more competitive. This has led to issues of parking and other strains on the limited infrastructure. As an active business hub, the area is also inundated with visitors, so the town struggles with waste disposal. Garbage accumulation has led to flooding by blocking the drainage system during rains. Charity Secondary School - panoramio

Location

Charity is located on the

Pomeroon River The Pomeroon River (also ''Río Pomerón'' ''or Pomaron'') is located in Guyana, South America, situated between the Orinoco and the Essequibo rivers. The area has long been inhabited by Lokono people. The Pomeroon River is also one of the deepe ...

which provides a gateway to this part of Guyana's interior and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. Many Guyanese use this waterway to travel back and forth between Guyana and Venezuela where they work. It is a central focus for the farmers who live in this area. They bring their products to this location and from here it is transshipped to other townships such as

Anna Regina Anna Regina is the capital of the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region of Guyana. Anna Regina stands on the Atlantic coast, northwest of the mouth of the Essequibo River, 19 km north of Adventure, and was established as a town in 1970. Its population w ...

and

Parika Parika is a port village located in the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara region of Guyana. Its ferry service is operated by the Ministry of Transportation, to and from the Essequibo Islands and West Demerara area. It is a hub for land transport, ...

, and to the capital city of Georgetown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charity, Guyana Populated places in Pomeroon-Supenaam