GUYANA America Faith Partners Inc. (GAFP), a US-based non profit with branches here, recently handed over backpacks and other supplies to schoolchildren at No. 29 Village Primary School, in West Coast Berbice as part of a longstanding and ongoing programme of support. The gifts, the most recent of many made to the school, were handed over by secretary of the local branch,  Mr. Abraham David of Belladrum, and local member and former archivist, Mr. Tommy Payne during graduation exercises for other pupils in the school’s auditorium two Wednesdays ago. The beneficiaries were pupils in Grades One, Two and Three.
According to David, GAFP was founded in 2007, with the intention of providing children at No. 29 Primary School with the best opportunity of becoming productive citizens through education.
One of the founding members, he said, is none other than Ms. Cicely Peters, daughter of former headmaster, Mr. Edgar B. Jordan. Prior to the group’s formation, the teachers and students of the
school had, in 2005, honoured Mr. Jordan, now 90, for the critical role he had played in the construction  of the school in the late 40s to the early 50s. Prior to 1950, David said, classes had been held in a church.
Mrs. Peters, who now resides in the U.S. and was among attendees at the ceremony honouring her father, was reportedly so touched by the needs of the school that upon her return in 2006, she brought with her some basic classroom supplies which she donated to the school.
She helped form the GAPF in 2007 with the aim of providing continued charitable support for the work of the school. Gifts since then have included several barrels of books, classroom supplies, home economics equipment, accessories for needlework and equipment for woodworking.
GAFP, David said, is currently collecting backpacks and other school supplies for pupils in Grades One, Five, Six and Seven at No. 29 Village Primary and that among other projects in the pipeline are:
building and equipping a modern library, a computer and science laboratory, and a woodworking shop; implementing projects geared to addressing the challenging needs of adolescent girls who have left school before graduating; and providing scholarships for pupils beyond high school.