At a meeting during Cabinet outreach in Crabwood Creek last Tuesday, President Bharrat Jagdeo expressed disappointment at the many complaints about lack of opportunities for young people in the various communities.

Hindu College Principal, Ms Rajkumari Singh, supervising remedial reading activity as Shyam Sundar (with hand on cheek) and other volunteers teach children, prior to commencement of classes.

The President cited the many facilities provided at community and national levels to advance the interests of children and youths in the nation – not least a comprehensive educational system, and decried the lack of effort by the adults to overlook the systems and ensure that they work effectively.

As in the Youth Choice Initiative programmes, where recently-installed infrastructure and facilities have become white elephants because the community spirit is found lacking.

President Jagdeo spoke of fathers and elder males in families who prefer to spend their money and time on liquor rather than on their families. He ascribes this as a major factor in the breakdown of families, communities, and societies; and a major contributor to delinquency in children.

This contributes to the situational aspect of poverty, because the lack is not in income per household, but in prioritising the spending power.

According to the President, financial management of a country is like financial management of a home. One can only spend accessible income; therefore one has to spend it wisely by prioritising the needs in sequence of urgency and necessity.

Chris Ralagan, standing next to Bramchari Vidur, with some of the children from the remedial reading classes.

Alcohol, certainly does not qualify as a necessity, but food, education, and shelter for the family does; and while the Government provides the tools for educational needs, families and societies need to do their part.

It is at this juncture that President Jagdeo made reference to the amazing work being undertaken by the Guyana Sevashram Sangha in Cove and John, and especially the volunteers who teach remedial reading to the children of communities lining the East Coast corridor.

He was also loud in praise of the work being done by two young men, Shyam Sundar and Christopher Ramlagan, who are in charge of the Sangha’s techvoc programmes, especially in the areas of Information Technology and Graphic Arts.

These programmes have been made possible mainly because of the committed efforts of primary donors, Jay and Sylvia Subraj, Naresh Singh, and Sarwan Budhu, all Guyanese entrepreneurs domiciled and operating out of the USA.

Bramchari Vidur, who has been co-ordinating all these programmes, is on spiritual retreat in India, so Chronicle spoke to Swami Bhajanananda, who is currently deputising for Swami Vidyananda at the Cove and John Ashram, and Swamiji expressed his appreciation for the President’s interest in the institution where he began his career as a teacher at the Hindu College.

Swamiji said that President Jagdeo was very interested in the building currently under construction, which is slated to house a comprehensive techvoc programme for those whom are not academically-inclined. The President also met with some of the children who are currently on the remedial reading Programme being run by Melinda Thornhill and others, and computer classes being run by Shyam and Chris.

Principal of the Hindu College, Ms Rajkumarie Singh, said that the President made a surprise visit after lunch last Saturday while the reading classes were still underway and was able to witness for himself the extent to which the Sangha is contributing to the education of the children in the East Coast communities.

The teachers are mainly very dedicated volunteers, which impressed President Jagdeo greatly, and that is why he was so impatient when persons from communities which have been provided similar facilities by the Government through the President’s Youth Choice Initiative complain about the lack of opportunities being afforded their children.

Bharrat Jagdeo, like Dr. Cheddi Jagan, came out of the simple background of a rural family struggling to make ends meet, so he could empathise with the average Guyanese family.

However, the President’s mother did not complain that she could not feed her children due to poverty because she planted a kitchen garden to supplement the family’s income, as did Dr. Jagan’s mother.

Both men rose, through untiring efforts and honest endeavour, to attain the highest office in the land, so he has scant patience with persons who continually complain of their circumstances when they refuse to make the necessary sacrifices to rise above those circumstances. As a young boy he too must have done without luxuries, even necessities, but he did not complain about lack of opportunities; instead he used the opportunities afforded through the educational system of the country, which has been greatly enhanced by his administration, to elevate his fortunes.

Throughout the country there is need for efforts like those of the volunteers at the Cove and John Sangha, who give of their time and expertise to help the younger ones of their communities in goal-oriented learning exercises.

Ms. Singh said the President seemed relaxed and happy in the beautiful and peaceful ambience of the ashram. He toured the facilities, spoke with the children and had discussions with officials at the Ashram and Swami Bhajananandana, drank coconut water out of the shell in a very informal way, and then spoke lengthily to Swami Vidyananda in the USA, identifying himself on the phone to the revered Swami as “Bharrat,” still the young man who respects his elders.

During various cabinet outreaches over the years successive Presidents of the PPP administration have assessed the needs of the people of the country and tried to address those needs, especially by taking into account the consequential impacts on the children. Many of the programmes eventually devised by Cabinet have been structured for longterm benefits to the nation through the educational and training facilities provided to the nation’s young people; so it is a very disappointed President who is often bombarded with the complaint that young people in communities are not accessing opportunities for advancement.

President Jagdeo has said that he is prepared to work with those whom are willing to utilise opportunities provided by the Government to obtain optimum results. According to the President, who has addressed the matter ad nauseum, the country can only develop with cooperate effort and dedicated endeavour, not with complaints.

Young persons like Bramchari Vidur, Melinda Thornhill, Shyam Sundar, and Christopher Ramlagan are prime examples of Guyanese helping to develop others toward the common good of community and national development through youth empowerment programmes.