Guyanese
Community Contact The creation of this web site was born out of
the need for a fully integrated community based online network for the exchange of cultural information.
The Guyana Cultural Association of Montreal (G.C.A.M.) was founded August 24, 1967. It came into being out of the need for an
organized approach to finding solution for the problems which affect the well-being of Guyanese living in Montreal Quebec
It is a charitable and non-profit community service
IT ALL STARTED HERE
In
1966 a number of Guyanese had an idea - bring together all Guyanese who live in Montreal to protect and maintain their
culture.
During
a conversation with the High Commissioner of Guyana to Canada, the Hon. Neville Selman, the idea of forming an Association
to promote the interests of Guyanese was discussed.
A
few weeks after that conversation, fourteen people who shared the same idea met for the first time, elections were held and
Willie Wright became the interim chairman.
Another
meeting was held to discuss the process of forming the Association, and a constitution committee was appointed. It included
Erwin Stewart, Patrick Machley, Wilfred Lee and Claude Ferdinand.
In
the spring of 1967, Guyanese assembled at a hall in Little Burgundy where they held an election, and the birth of Guyana Cultural
Association of Montreal was celebrated.
The persons who were elected to run the Association were Erwin Stewart, the first president of GCAM, Vashty Cramer,
Secretary and Wilfred Lee, treasurer. And the Association has thrived. Today, GCAM is still as strong as ever.
The
Co-operative Republic of GuyanaIs a country on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone
Caribbean. Guyana has been a former colony of the British, Dutch and for a brief period, the
French. It is the only country of the Commonwealth
of Nations on mainland South America, and is also a member of the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM), which has its secretariat headquarters in Guyana's capital, Georgetown. Guyana achieved independence from the United
Kingdom on 26 May 1966 and became a Republic on 23 February 1970.
Area 83,012 sp mi (215,000 km2), Guyana is the third-smallest independent
country on the mainland of South America (after Uruguay and Suriname). Its population is approximately 770,000. It is
one of the five non-Spanish-speaking countries on the continent, along with Brazil (Portuguese), Suriname (Dutch), the Falkland Islands (English) and French Guiana (French).
