By Regina Rodrigues
This is a tribute to my mother Martina Rodrigues- a notable individual in Santa Rosa who is remembered for her significant contribution to the academic development of her village.
Born at Cabucalli, Santa Rosa in Moruca on Nov. 11, 1916 to Georgina and Emmanuel Ferreira, Martina Rodrigues was one of six children. She married Eleutherio Esteban Rodrigues at the age of 16 on July 24, 1932.
Martina was the mother of seven children but two died as infants. Of the remaining children, two live in Guyana with their families and three migrated to Canada where they live with their families.
She is known fondly as Aunty Bissy– she told us once that as a child she was always doing something and was told she was like a busy bee and so got the name ‘Bissy’.
A major contribution by Martina to the life of the Amerindians of the Rupununi and Pakaraimas was the establishment and running of a network of primary schools. Teachers for these were largely recruited from the Arawak Amerindian community at Santa Rosa. Father Bernard MacKenna operating out of Sand Creek was the priest largely responsible for this work among the Wapishana of the Rupununi, while John Quigley worked with the Macushi of the central Rupununi and Wilson-Browne with the Patamona in the Pakaraimas. Martina was one of the teachers who left Moruca in 1952 to teach in the Rupununi.
During a tribute to her after her death, she was described, “A talented poetess, artist and seamstress who was best known for her contribution to the teaching profession. She worked among the Caribs at Red Hill, Barama in the late 1940s, at Achawib Village, Rupununi among the Wapisianas in the 1950s and finally to Dora on the Demerara in the 1960s. Old Santa Rosa folks will remember her witty, jovial and culturally centred letters she wrote in the Catholic Standard. They were likened to the contributions of the late Sister Theresa.”
The school at Achawib, where she was headmistress, is the village at the most southern tip of Guyana – the nearest village and airstrip was 14 miles away. Martina would venture once a month on her bicycle, accompanied by 1 or 2 schoolboys to lead the way, in order to post her letters and receive her mails, which included a much cherished Reader’s Digest.
She sewed her children’s clothing on her trusty Singer sewing machine. This model was purchased in 1953 and was very high end at the time as it had a foot pedal instead of one turned by hand. She proudly had her machine transported from Georgetown all the way to Achawib and up to this day the machine still exists in working order. It is kept by her eldest daughter, Elsa Barker, at her ranch in the Rupununi.
Martina moved away from her beloved Rupununi to be closer to her children- the younger 3 were teenagers by then. She taught at Dora on the Demerara River in the 1960s. She eventually retired in the mid 1960s and moved to Georgetown to really be close to her younger children who were schooling in the city at the time.
In 1976, she migrated to Canada after the death of her husband Stephen, the year before. She lived in Canada quite independently in her own apartment until her death in 1992. She diligently sent off boxes and barrels to the family in Moruca, a tradition her children still upkeep, and she never forgot her roots as she always visited Santa Rosa where her mother and older sister still lived. She never forgot about the elderly and frequently gave away her clothing to someone who admired it or seemed to be in need.
She loved going to Bingo where she lived in Canada and every evening she would dress and take the bus to Bingo– even in winter when we might have told her it was too cold and snowy, she just dressed in her warmest – including hat, gloves and boots- and off she went. She was indeed a strong and determined individual adored by all her family and friends. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)
