POLICE in ‘A’ Division have already started working with the Mocha/Arcadia communities, East Bank Demerara, where they intend to establish a youth group and commence skills training programmes with children there.

On Wednesday, the police visited the Mocha Primary School and met with teachers, parents and students and told them of the plan for working with the community.
The police sought and received the blessing of both the teachers and parents to work with the children on Saturdays, mainly from the school, and any other child who may be delinquent or has social problems.
The police also stated during their interaction with the gathering that for the programme to be effective the parents would need to work closely with the teachers and the police. The school will be used as the resource centre for the training since there is no established community centre.

At the end of the programme, the children would receive certificates as was done in Agricola and several groups in Albouystown.
Since most of the children in Mocha are younger than those in the other communities, the police are looking to engage them mainly in craft activities. Those engagements are expected to be headed by Ms Kim Gordon, wife of the General Manager of Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL), publisher of the Guyana Chronicle newspapers.
Last week, the police took snacks for the children and adults who were present at the first formal meeting to discuss the plan of action. The police have in the past donated books and other school supplies to the community of Mocha through the primary school.

(By Leroy Smith)