Providence, French Guiana

Providence is a village of Paramacca Maroons[1] in the commune of Apatou at the confluence of the Maroni River and the Beïman Creek[2] in French Guiana.

For the village in Guyana, see Providence, Guyana.
Providence
Village
Providence is located in French Guiana
Providence
Providence
Location in French Guiana
Coordinates: 4.6186°N 54.4139°W / 4.6186; -54.4139
CountryFrance
Overseas regionFrench Guiana
ArrondissementSaint-Laurent-du-Maroni
CommuneApatou

The village can only be accessed by boat via the Maroni River, and is located about three hours south of Apatou.[3] The children in Providence and the nearby islands used to go to school in Stoelmanseiland, however the Surinamese Interior War (1986-1992) caused the closure of the school, leaving about 300 children in the region without access to education.[4] In 2012, a school was constructed in the village.[5]

In 1991, gold was discovered in the Beïman Creek near the village. The main concession is the Esperance Gold Mine which is being exploited by the Newmont Corporation,[2] however the discovery has attracted garimpeiros (illegal gold miners) to the region.[6] In 2017, the French Development Agency started a project to provide the village with clean drinking water.[3]

References
  1. Mallé, Marie-Pascale (2004). "Les maisons des Noirs marrons de Guyane". In Situ. Le patrimoine rural. 2004 #5 (5): 4. doi:10.4000/insitu.2373.
  2. "La compagnie minière espérance". Une Saison en Guyane (in French). Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  3. "Améliorer l'eau et l'assainissement à Apatou". French Development Agency (in French). 1 July 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  4. "Providence privée d'école". 97320.com (in French). 26 July 2004. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  5. "New school in Providence". Esperance Gold Mine. 15 April 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  6. "'They always come back': French Guiana battles illegal gold hunters". Yahoo! News. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2021.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.