Henry in Guyana

Well, I've been here for one week and a lot has happened. Blackouts have been frequent; Saints is on a different grid to the apartment, and at one point I came home because there was a blackout at school and a few hours later got a blackout at home. One night in particular everything went off just as I was going to sleep - it was very sweaty. When the fan came on (I'd arranged it so it was ready to go) in the middle of the night it was a sudden release from stale heat to refreshing breeze..

A couple of days ago I took a trip to NCERD, the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (they spell centre correctly here!) Because of Guyana's vast interior, teaching resources are limited so there is a plan in place to equip 50 schools with computer labs and have some kind of content distribution to help teachers. I haven't really worked out what is going on there so far but they are willing for me to get involved so I will go and spend a day next week. It was a stark contrast to Saints - most rooms were air conditioned and there was a lot of flashy equipment (big flat screens) around. Government departments (although perhaps not their staff) seem comparatively well funded.

Last night after work I ended up drinking on a street corner. Another chap I work with who is my age has some friends who live nearby and a couple of them own food and drink stands. A bit later on some old boys turned up and started playing Dominos. Now in the UK, drinking on a street corner is seen as the lowest of the low, but here it's more like having a little party outdoors. It was good fun and everyone was very friendly, and quite amused at the prospect of me being here for 6 months. One of the chaps ran a stall selling puri - a kind of flatbread which I had some of. A bit later I got the munchies so I had another, this time with shark in. It tastes like a mix between chicken and fish, and in my opinion champions the best bits of both! Most chicken and fish in this country comes fried (think KFC). The other chap had a stall selling ice drinks so he had plenty of ice for us (which you need).

I have also had curry roti (another kind of flatbread) a couple of times - these are sold anywhere from street stands to McDonald's style restaurants. They're pretty tasty and quite cheap. I also ordered a "cake slice" but I would describe it as more of a cake - it was huge and less than 50p. A bit of a contrast to £2.99 for a slice of something in Starbuck's.

Tomorrow sees my first weekend in Georgetown...

There seems to be a paradox in Guyana between wages and the cost of living. People are paid very little but the cost of living does not reflect this. A policeman earns around 40,000 GYD, which is around £120. The cost of renting a reasonable flat or apartment starts at 50,000 GYD, around £150.

It is not just the policemen however, I am told that most jobs pay very little. Teachers earn an average annual salary of 500,000 GYD after tax which is £1500. This sounds ridiculous compared to say, a teacher in the UK earning £25,000 which here would be 8.25 million GYD.

So how is the wage rate so low despite the cost of living, and how does everyone get by? I am becoming aware of what I would say is a hidden economy. There are a number of ways that Guyanese people make the difference: illegal drugs (smuggling out to the US and Europe) apparently account for 60% of the economy and corruption is a real problem.

Legitimate earnings also make the difference. Private businesses can do quite well - food sellers on the street for example can turn a profit that will cover their living expenses. Those fortunate enough to be employed by foreign companies of agencies get paid foreign salaries and can live very well indeed. The main thing however, is money coming from abroad. Someone told me that the recordable (through banks, MoneyGram etc) influx of money from abroad is 450 million USD per year. Most Guyanese have families abroad, many of whom send money back. If you consider the population to be 750,000 $450 million is a huge amount of money to come in (and this doesn't cover cash or other methods of remittance).

One of the biggest problems, in my opinion, is the low wage rate. Many jobs provide less income than is required to live unless you own your house or live with your parents. As a result fraud, theft and corruption are almost understandable to make ends meet. At the same time, the hidden economy seems to bridge the difference - if people were really paid too little the wage rate would increase. It seems like a perpetual situation of people "hustling" to get by.

I have been told that most educated people (particularly teachers) will all have applications to leave the country and are waiting for the opportunity, and I don't blame them. You could teach in the UK for a year and return very wealthy, or stay in Guyana and earn less than it costs to live.

Guyana would be a desperately poor country if it wasn't for the international diaspora, reportedly larger than the resident population. Their money props up, but perhaps also confounds, the economy.

This is my opinion at the moment, but I am sure I have more to learn...