HEAVY rains in recent days, compounded by high tides, have forced children living at Mora Camp to resort to drastic measures in order to attend school on a daily basis.
They have had to remove their shoes and socks to tread murky waters and swamps in order to access the main public road, before travelling miles to arrive at their public schools.
During the dry season, the more than 25 children who attend nursery, primary and

secondary schools in Central Bartica, would have to climb steep hills and cross creeks, using makeshift bridges, just to get to school, but according to Mark Harrop, the situation has gone from bad to worse with the heavy showers over the last week.
“The hill is now washing away, so it is becoming difficult for the children to climb,” he said, adding that their makeshift bridges are now under water.
“Last week was the high tide, but now they have to put up with the high tide and the rain; and it is becoming more and more difficult for them,” he complained.
While some accompany their children to school through the murky waters on a daily basis, other parents have opted to keep their children at home, particularly the smaller ones.

FEARING THE WORSE
Fearing that the situation would only get worse, Mark and approximately eight other concerned parents on Tuesday met with the Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall.
During that meeting, the concerned parents reiterated the need for bridges to be built across the creeks, along with a concrete step down the steep hill. They are asking, too, for mud dams to be built in the swampy areas.
Marshall later in the day told the Guyana Chronicle that the Council is working with the Ministry of Communities and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure to resolve the issues facing the children and by extension, the people of Mora Camp.
He said that while the Council is taking the residents suggestions into consideration, it would have to consult with the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, because the hill alluded to by the residents, falls within the boundaries of private lands.

Marshall said until a permanent solution is found and put in place, and once the rains continue next week, the Council will have no alternative but to transport the children by road.
He said that school-age children residing in Kalcoon Camp had faced similar challenges, but the Council was able to secure an engine and boat to transport them to school on a daily basis.
Although Kalcoon Camp is just one-and-a-half miles away from Mora Camp, it is located closer to the Mazaruni River, and as such, provision of a boat to those residents, Marshall said, was the best option.

CONSTITUENCY SEVEN
Kalcoon and Mora Camps, located along the bank of the Mazaruni River on the opposite side of the Mazaruni Prison, were incorporated into Bartica when its boundaries were expanded to convert it into a town. These two camps now form part of Constituency Seven.
With 21 houses in Kalcoon, and 23 in Mora, and with a population of approximately 160 persons, 60 of whom are children, these two camps need the track to be converted into a real road.