‘Because We Care’ Programme marked by order, civility and efficiency
–more than $130M distributed on East Coast, East Bank

MORE than 13,000 children from the East Coast and the East Bank Demerara on Wednesday benefited from the Government of Guyana’s ‘Because we Care’ $10,000 Cash Grant.

Addressing a gathering of approximately 1,164 at the Diamond Secondary School, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand stated that when the Government of Guyana started planning for the Cash Grant Initiative in 2013, its main objective was to ensure that parents receive additional support to send their children to school. She noted that while the $10,000 is not meant to meet all the needs a family might have, it will certainly help some parents to materialise a few plans to efficiently help their children.
The Minister also noted that according to local statistics as well as international reports written about the country, Guyana is doing better as a country, and this is why the Government can invest in giving parents the additional support. “We are able to give $10,000 as a grant this year because we can do it economically and because we care about your families’ welfare,” she said.
She added that like other programmes implemented by the Government, the ‘Because We Care’ $10,000 Cash Grant Initiative will grow. She made reference to the Uniform Programme, which was started to provide assistance to only underprivileged children. Today, the Uniform Programme is expanded to include every child in the public school system. Similar progress has been made in other programmes such as the School Feeding Programme.
The Minister asked parents to do more to ensure that their children succeed at school. She added that next year the Ministry is seriously considering applying a condition to the Cash Grant Programme, where only children with a certain percentage of attendance at school will benefit.
The following schools were serviced at the Diamond Secondary School yesterday: Diamond Secondary, Grove Nursery, Diamond Primary, and the Special Needs School.
Parents have until November 30, 2014 to en-cash their vouchers at any Western Union or Bill Express location.