What is the point of all this? Westernisation, disease and Guyana...

Westernisation- the social process of converting to the customs and practices of Western civilisation- is far from a novel development in the world’s native populations. The Australian Aborigines, the American Pima Indians, the tribes of Nauru and many others like them have all fell victim to the effects of Westernisation- obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease to name a few. We at the Universities of Aberdeen and Guyana are striving to prevent the Guyanese Amerindians from going the same way, as from increased access to cities as a result of the logging of the rainforest or from increasingly popular emigration from the jungles, more and more Guyanese Amerindians are adopting a Western style of life and diet. Thus, we aim to start a long-term project to prevent what could be an epidemic of chronic diseases amongst an entire subpopulation as a result of Westernisation. If we are successful, this will be the first time in human history that this has ever been achieved.

The benefits of our data collection in the Interior will be immediate and longstanding. From our setting foot in the country, we will be increasing awareness in Amerindian communities of the consequences of adopting a Western lifestyle by- on top of collecting data- running workshops on healthy living throughout the project. We will present our immediate findings to the Guyanese Ministries of Amerindian Affairs and of Health, wasting no time in executing the protection of the health of Guyanese Amerindians. The information we will collect is also of interest to the wider Caribbean public, therefore articles on the research project will be publicised on popular online forums, social media platforms, this website and several media outlets. Our data collection will therefore reach a wide and varied audience, all of whom will be able to directly apply what we have found.

This study is of course a pilot project; our time in the country will act to kick-start both the taking of measures to protect at-risk Amerindians as well as the potential for Guyanese academics to conduct research of their own in their country. Establishing strong working partnerships is a high priority: we aim for future projects to be instigated and led by the University of Guyana and supported by the University of Aberdeen rather than be externally driven, thus the legacy of the project will remain intact.

It is hoped that alongside formal result publication, a documentary of the project will be filmed by our student media attachment. This will be a useful resource in aiding the planning of future research collaborations within Guyana and will provide inspiration and direction for students in both partner countries. Our student-led ideas exchange project between high school students in Aberdeen and Guyana, will again promote wider discussion of health and changing diets in both countries. Our guides and local organisers have also indicated that they would like training in research principles; facilitating this kind of wider engagement in Guyana's future can only strengthen long term goals.

It is therefore clear that we have taken some serious measures to protect what we fear is a very much at-risk population in such a fascinating country. This is why we are so driven to make sure this project goes ahead.