Bethany Village is a
mission
Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to:
Geography Australia
*Mission River (Queensland)
Canada
*Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality
* Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood
* ...
located on the Araburia River, a tributary three miles up the
Supenaam River in
Pomeroon-Supenaam
Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region 2) is a region of Guyana.
It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the region of Essequibo Islands-West Demerara to the east, the region of Cuyuni-Mazaruni to the south and the region of Barima-Waini to the west. Po ...
,
Essequibo in
Guyana
Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
.
Overview
Bethany is an
Amerindian
In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...
settlement that started as a
Seventh-day Adventist
The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...
community, and derived its name from the bible.
The main access to the coast is via the Supenaam River to the Town of
Supenaam,
but there is also an airstrip located 1 mile from the centre of the community. Bethany is next to another Amerindian Village, Mashabo.
Settlement began in the 1880s due to the close proximity to the forest for logging, as well as a nearby Dutch sawmill at the time. Logging continues to be important for the village.
Small scale farming is done,
producing bora, pak choi,
eddo, yam, plantain and pumpkin,
but capturing of wild life is prohibited.
Public services
Bethany has a primary and nursery school, community centre, recreational park, health centre, an airstrip, a Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
It also has a Seventh-Day denominated medical missionary college. Travel to the village is by boat, and Guyana Adventist Medical Aviation Service provides flights for medical emergencies.
Snakes are prevalent in and around the village, and have been known to take off with domesticated animals of Bethany residents.
References
{{Settlements in Guyana
Populated places in Pomeroon-Supenaam
Indigenous villages in Guyana