Remarkable Growth in Baramita

Another area in Guyana where many indigenous people have responded to the Kingdom message is Baramita. Situated in the northwest of the country, Baramita is home to a community of Carib Indians. The Carib were some of the earliest inhabitants of the Caribbean region, which derives its name from them. Their language is also called Carib.

Ruby Smith, a native Carib, became interested in the truth in 1975 when she received a tract from her grandmother. (See the box on page 181.) Ruby was 16 years old at the time. She progressed spiritually and was baptized in 1978 at the “Victorious Faith” Convention. Shortly thereafter, her family moved to Georgetown for business reasons. There she married Eustace Smith. Eustace could not speak Carib, yet he and Ruby were eager to move to Baramita to share the Kingdom message with Ruby’s relatives and others. Says Ruby: “Jehovah saw what was in our hearts and answered our prayers because in 1992 we went to Baramita.”

Ruby continues: “Upon arriving, I immediately began witnessing in the community. We held meetings below our little house, which was about five feet [1.5 m] above the ground. Before long, the crowd became too large to be accommodated at this location, so we borrowed tents. As word about the meetings spread, attendances grew and eventually reached about 300! Because I was fluent in Carib, it fell upon me to interpret The Watchtower. How did everyone hear? We used an inexpensive FM microphone transmitter, while many in the audience brought along their radio and simply tuned it to the right frequency.

“By that time, Eustace and I felt that the group really needed a Kingdom Hall. So after calculating the cost and discussing the project with others, we went ahead with the work. My brother Cecil Baird contributed much of the building material, while others helped with the labor. Work began in June 1992, and the project was completed early the following year, just in time for the Memorial. We were amazed when 800 attended the discourse, which was given by Gordon Daniels, a traveling overseer.

“The Baramita group became a congregation on April 1, 1996, and the Kingdom Hall was dedicated on May 25. Since then, it has been enlarged and can now seat over 500 comfortably, enabling the brothers to use it for circuit assemblies and special assembly days. Indeed, what began as a small group is today a congregation of close to 100 publishers with an average attendance of 300 at the Public Meeting. And up to 1,416 have attended the Memorial!”

A Very Big Wedding!

In the Baramita district, scores of couples who had been living together outside of wedlock legalized their marriage in order to conform to Bible standards. Some, though, had difficulties acquiring the necessary documentation, such as birth certificates. Still, after much effort and with help from the brothers to ascertain birth dates and other details, these couples were able to get married.

On one occasion, 79 couples were married at the same ceremony. Adin Sills, a member of the Branch Committee, gave the wedding talk. Three days later, 41 persons, mostly newlyweds, expressed the desire to become unbaptized publishers.

So many in Baramita have shown an interest in God’s Word that the whole community has seen a remarkable improvement. At the Kingdom Hall dedication, one of the elders stated: “Baramita is now a place of tranquillity and peace. This is so because it is not unusual for over 90 percent of the community to attend the meetings on a regular basis.”

In 1995 the Baramita district suffered a severe drought. How did Jehovah’s people fare? Schoolteacher Gillian Persaud was teaching in Baramita at the time. When she heard a light aircraft land at the small airport nearby, she ran as fast as she could to intercept the pilot before he took off again. She convinced him to take her to Georgetown, where she went straight to the branch office to report the plight of the brothers.

James Thompson, a Branch Committee member at the time, relates: “The Governing Body gave us permission to airlift food and other provisions to Baramita. We were also able to arrange for 36 publishers to be flown to Georgetown so that they could attend the district convention. For many, that was the first convention they had ever attended.”

[Box/Pictures on page 181-183]

Jehovah Has Given Me ‘the Requests of My Heart’

Ruby Smith

Born: 1959

Baptized: 1978

Profile: A native Carib, she played a key role in preaching the good news in Baramita, an Amerindian reservation in the interior of Guyana.

My first contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses was in 1975. I was 16 years old. Grandmother received a tract from her stepson and asked me to translate it for her, since she could not read English. Amazed at the Biblical promises discussed in the tract, I filled out the coupon and mailed it to the branch office. When the publications I requested arrived, I studied them and began to talk to others about the Scriptural truths I had learned. I started with my grandmother and aunt. Sadly, Father disapproved of my activity.

Before long, my grandmother and aunt began witnessing. In response, some villagers came to our home to learn more about the Bible. In the meantime, the more I read, the more I came to realize that I needed to make changes in my life so as to please Jehovah. This involved confessing to my father that I had stolen something from his workshop and getting back on good terms with one of my brothers. After much prayer, I was able to do both.

Meanwhile, the branch office arranged for a special pioneer, Sheik Bakhsh, to visit our area. However, Brother Bakhsh could not stay for long, so he and another brother, Eustace Smith, who later became my husband, studied with me by mail.

In 1978, I went to Georgetown for the “Victorious Faith” Convention. Upon my arrival in the capital, I went straight to the branch office to make known my desire to be baptized. They arranged for Albert Small to review with me the questions that elders discuss with those wanting to be baptized. How thrilled I was to return to Baramita a baptized servant of Jehovah!

Filled with zeal, I immediately got busy in the preaching work. Many became interested, so I asked some of them to build a simple place of worship. There, each Sunday, I would interpret the English Watchtower into Carib. However, Father opposed my activities and insisted that I stay at home on Sundays. So I secretly recorded the articles on cassette tape, and one of my brothers would play it at the meetings. By this time, about 100 regularly attended.

Shortly thereafter, our family moved to Georgetown for business reasons, and Grandmother moved to Matthews Ridge. My aunt remained in Baramita but stopped sharing the good news with others. So Kingdom activity there became dormant for a time.

In Georgetown, I met Eustace Smith in person, and a short time later, we were married. Even though Eustace could not speak Carib, both he and I wanted to go to Baramita to cultivate the interest there. In 1992 our desire became reality. As soon as we arrived, we got busy in the ministry and organized meetings. Before long, the attendance grew to about 300!

We also organized a literacy class to be held after the Watchtower Study. Yolande, our first child, helped with the lessons. When she started, she was 11 years old and an unbaptized publisher. Today, she and our other daughter, Melissa, serve as regular pioneers.

In 1993, Jehovah blessed Baramita with a Kingdom Hall. He also provided us with “gifts in men” who could speak Carib and who could take the lead in the congregation. (Eph. 4:8) Effective April 1, 1996, we became the Baramita Congregation. I am thrilled to report, too, that the congregation includes my mother, my grandmother, and almost all of my siblings. Truly, Jehovah has given me ‘the requests of my heart.’​—Ps. 37:4.

[Picture]

Eustace and me today