Gov’t fulfills long-awaited dream…
A SPANKING new $95.4M dormitory for Hinterland Scholarship Students was commissioned yesterday at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara with President Bharrat Jagdeo describing it as the fulfillment of “a long awaited dream” for many hinterland students who travel to Georgetown to study.
Noting that the reality of life in Guyana demands an appropriate response, President Jagdeo pointed out that geography, distance and bad policies have kept our indigenous people from enjoying many opportunities that other Guyanese have enjoyed over many years, ever since independence.
He noted that in some cases, opportunities cannot be transplanted in the villages themselves because of several reasons which include villages being too small, and one of these areas is tertiary education and top quality secondary education.
As such, President Jagdeo said there is “an absolute need for the government to be responsive” by bringing those children who have been successful in the hinterland areas to the centres where they can be allowed to grow, develop and prosper.
While being cognisant of the need to preserve the Amerindian culture, Mr. Jagdeo said it is necessary to work together to reclaim languages and some of the lost culture due to ‘centuries of westernisation’.
He said it is not a task of only the Amerindians but everyone as Guyana’s history is not only the history of respective ethnic groups but of all Guyana.
Though culture needs to be preserved, he said there is also the need for indigenous peoples to integrate and enjoy participation in the leadership of the country like every other Guyanese.
The Guyanese Head of State also empathised with the future occupants of the dormitory, observing that it is not easy to be removed at such a tender age from their families and the environment in which they grow up in, and transplanted to another part of the country that is ‘often alien’.
Therefore, their successes must be appreciated since it comes through tremendous sacrifice, the President said in reference to the Hinterland scholarship students.

Mr. Jagdeo also expressed hope that the new facility would make the students’ transition slightly easier as they would be in an environment where they would be living with and interacting with children from other Amerindian communities.
“Dormitories don’t replace love that kids can get from kindhearted people, but can bring kids together and they can have an environment that they are much more comfortable in,” the President asserted.
While alluding to the myriad benefits that students will have access to at the facility such as the library and internet, Mr. Jagdeo said one needs to also take into account the ‘running costs’ of the dormitory such as electricity and food – costs which the government has committed to have taken care of.

The dorm which was chartered by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs is expected to house 120 persons: 72 girls and 48 boys. It commenced construction on August 24, 2009 with C. Deokie and Sons being the contractor.  Dean and Partners served as the Consultant architects while Supervisory Engineer of the project was Walter Willis.