Rented Halls and “Bottom Houses”

From the beginning of the work in Guyana, finding suitable places of worship has been a challenge. Back in 1913, the handful of brothers in Georgetown rented a room at Somerset House, which served them well for 45 years. By 1970, only two congregations had their own Kingdom Hall​—the Charlestown Congregation in Georgetown and the Palmyra Congregation in Berbice. Yet, three years earlier, Guyana passed the 1,000-publisher mark! So most congregations met in rented facilities, which often were far from ideal.

In the late 1950’s, for example, the Wismar Congregation, situated on the Demerara River, grew to the point that the brothers had to find a suitable hall. They were given the use of a place called the Islander Hall. They met midweek for the Theocratic Ministry School and Service Meeting and Sunday evening for the Public Meeting and Watchtower Study. But getting things set up for the meetings was quite an exercise in logistics. First the brothers crossed the Demerara from Mackenzie to Wismar in a small boat. One brother took a carton of magazines, another took a carton of literature, and a third brother carried the various forms and the contribution boxes. Of course, all of this had to be set up before the meeting. Afterward, the entire procedure was reversed.

Meetings were also held in so-called bottom houses​—the space that exists under a home. Because of the possibility of flooding, homes in Guyana are generally built high off the ground on wood or concrete posts, or stilts. This design provides usable space, such as for congregation meetings. In Guyana, however, many people hold the view that if a religion cannot afford a proper meeting place, then it does not have God’s blessing.

Furthermore, meetings in bottom houses were sometimes interrupted, detracting from the dignity of the occasion. In one instance, a chicken, frightened by a dog, flew into the meeting place and landed on a six-year-old girl. She let out a hair-raising scream, which startled everyone. After the meeting, the incident evoked a little laughter but demonstrated again the need for a better place of worship. What is more, holding meetings in bottom-house Kingdom Halls did little to provide interested ones incentive to attend.

Kingdom Hall Construction

“In my 32 years with the Charity Congregation,” recalls Frederick McAlman, “we rented five different bottom houses. Situated as we were on the lower part of the house, we had to be careful to avoid hitting our heads on the wooden beams. While carrying her child, one sister misjudged the height of a beam and bumped her child’s head. Later, she reported this to her father, an unbeliever. Her parents concluded that the congregation needed to have their own place of worship. In fact, her mother offered to donate a parcel of land to the congregation, and her father said that he would finance the construction of a Kingdom Hall. And that is exactly what happened. Today, that original Kingdom Hall, after being remodeled several times, continues to be the center of true worship in the community. It also serves as a small Assembly Hall for the local circuit.”

In the early days, Kingdom Halls took many months to complete. This was true of the hall in Eccles. Sherlock Pahalan, who was serving as an elder in Eccles at the time, relates: “Our meetings were held in a school. We knew that more increase would come if we had our own Kingdom Hall. But the few publishers in Eccles were poor financially. Nevertheless, they passed a resolution to build a hall. I searched for suitable land within the territory, but in vain.

“Meanwhile, the brothers in Georgetown lent us two molds and taught us how to make concrete blocks. At first, it took us several hours to make just 12 blocks, but with practice we became quite proficient, especially the sisters. Another challenge was obtaining cement because it was rationed at the time. I had to apply for permission to receive a limited amount. Then to ensure that we got our quota, I would go to the wharf early in the morning and wait in line. Next I had to find a truck that was going to Eccles and that had sufficient space to carry the cement. Jehovah came to our aid every time. But we still needed the land.”

Sherlock continues: “In 1972, Juliet and I took a vacation in Canada and visited my cousin, who is not a Witness. He mentioned that he owned two plots of land in Eccles but that the relatives caring for them were falling down on the job. So he asked for my help. I said that I would be happy to assist, adding that I just happened to be searching for land in Eccles for a Kingdom Hall. Without hesitation, he told me to choose either of the lots.

“We saw additional evidence of God’s hand during the construction. Even though many other building materials besides cement were in short supply, we substituted and improvised and somehow always managed to get the job done. Furthermore, few brothers had the necessary skills, and it took much scheduling to get volunteers to the site. Indeed, my little van traveled hundreds of miles shuttling brothers to and fro. In the end, our Kingdom Hall was complete. We even had a member of the Governing Body, Karl Klein, deliver our dedication talk. What a treat that was!”

Quickly Built Kingdom Halls

As recent as 1995, over half the congregations in Guyana still met in rented facilities, including bottom houses. Hence, the branch organized a national building committee to address the need. In October of that very year, the brothers constructed their first quickly built Kingdom Hall at Mahaicony, about 30 miles [50 km] east of Georgetown on the Mahaicony River. When told that Jehovah’s Witnesses were going to build a Kingdom Hall over four weekends, one neighbor stated: “If you are talking about a chicken coop, OK, but a concrete building​—never.” Needless to say, that man soon changed his view.

In a land where racial tensions sometimes run high, Kingdom Hall projects have demonstrated to all that regardless of race or nationality, Jehovah’s Witnesses work together in true Christian unity. Indeed, one elderly woman who watched the project at Mahaicony exclaimed to a circuit overseer: “I observed six different races of people out there working together!”

[Picture on page 194]

Kingdom Hall in Orealla, Guyana