–in hopes of curtailing truancy

RANKS at the Grove Police Station on the East Bank of Demerara, backed by members of the Station Management Committee, have donated several school items and some amount of groceries to children within the East Bank Demerara communities stretching from Grove to Garden of Eden, which falls under the Number Two sub-division of the Guyana Police Force’s ‘A’ Division.

The donation of books, bags and shoes, acquired from members of the business community, partly in cash and partly in materials and other items, was given to the children last Thursday in the presence of their parents,

guardians and senior police ranks.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle following the distribution, Woman Sergeant, Lorna Adonis related that the police and members of the Station Management Committee visited East Bank Demerara communities between Grove and Garden of Eden and met with children who were living under difficult

circumstances, and whose parents or guardians were not financially strong to prepare them for the new school term, which begins next week.

Adonis said this initiative was aimed at reducing the truancy level within the district, and to ensure that children attend school on each required day. She admonished the children to not just receive the items, but to ensure that they were put to their intended use.

Adonis said that, at present, the station is enjoying the relationship it is sharing with both the business community and members of the various communities under its

control.

And addressing the gathering, ‘A’ Division Commander, Clifton Hicken said he was pleased that the initiative of assisting children was not coming only from the central division, but was decentralised. He tasked the police in the sub-division to identify the best three performing students out of the lot at the next end-of-term examination, so those children could be rewarded for their effort.

Hicken reminded that education is indeed very important to the development of children, and he called on parents to ensure they play a meaningful role in the lives of their children, and to ensure that they create for their children a foundation that others can build upon.

The commander told the parents that their responsibility was to ensure they play a role in the educational life of their children, and not leave it to the ministries and school teachers.

(By Leroy Smith)