Crabwood Creek

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Crabwood Creek is a small community of about 10,000 on the Corentyne River in the East Berbice-Corentyne region of Guyana, located at 5°51′N 57°9′W. The population of Crabwood Creek is primarily descendants of indentured servants who were brought to Guyana from India in the mid-1800s. Crabwood Creek is located approximately four miles from the larger town of Corriverton. Corriverton is home to the Guyana Sugar Corporation's (GUYSUCO)Skeldon Estate which provides jobs to a majority of the surrounding communities. Many of the men from Crabwood Creek work as sugar cane cutters for the estate. The Skeldon Estate is also in the process of building a new sugar factory. With assistance from the World Bank, this factory will be built as a co-generation plant, providing stable electricity to the residents of the surrounding communities, including Crabwood Creek. Because the sugar factory is the main source of jobs for the community of Crabwood Creek, changes in the sugar factory have a dramatic effect on the village of Crabwood Creek. Currently, a Chinese company has won the bid to build the new sugar factory. A recent influx of Chinese workers has dramatically affected the demographics of the area.

Crabwood Creek is the home to two primary schools and a secondary school. Children are required to attend school although currently, these regulations are not enforced. Many children do not attend school and those who do are faced with poorly educated teachers who have virtually no incentive to teach. There are no penalties for teachers who do not show up for work and teachers frequently have to wait months for their government pay checks. This is a major problem throughout Guyana but especially in communities like Crabwood Creek that are so far from the central government.

Crabwood Creek is also home to the Crabwood Creek Health Centre, a government sponsored centre. The health centre is staffed by one Medex who works four days a week, two mid-wives who work two days a week, and two nursing assistants who work 3 days a week. The nurses and medex work separately with the nurses handling maternal and child health issues and the medex dealing with other health problems and emergencies. Many patients are referred to nearby Skeldon Hospital for treatment and tests.

Crabwood Creek has recently found itself in an interesting situation. The Village sits right on the coast of the Corentyne River, the border between Guyana and Suriname. This border is the only international boundary in the world that is not the center of the river. The border between Guyana and Suriname is the high tide mark on the Guyana side of the river. Recently, oil has been discovered in the mouth of the Corentyne River, just off shore from Guyana. This oil was found by Guyanese and has now increased tensions between Guyana and Suriname. The matter is currently being review by international courts.