YOUTHS at the Deep South Rupununi village of Aishalton, believe that the APNU+AFC government has performed well and they lauded the administration for its support to the community since assuming office in 2015.

Youth advocate John Adams, who was famously struck to the face by a presidential guard of former President Donald Ramotar in 2015, told the Guyana Chronicle on Saturday that the administration has paid much attention to the social and economic well-being of residents since coming to power.

He said that the rehabilitation of the police station at the village; the provision of Internet service to the Aishalton Secondary School, as well as assistance through the Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) programme, are only a few of the initiatives benefitting residents there.

He said that the Internet service provided to the secondary school benefits over 200 students and other persons use the Internet for work-related matters. These include hospital staff, who utilise the service for communication purposes.

While he thanked the government for paying much-needed attention to the village, Adams said a few things are needed and these include support for sport activities. He said an upgrade of the Aishalton playground, including adding floodlights, can greatly impact youth development in the area.

He said too that electricity is also needed. During the previous government’s term in office, a generator was installed at the village and it worked for two weeks. It was left sitting for years. Adams said that the government could work towards providing a new generator for the community.

Sunita Ernest, who is also a sports enthusiast, told the Guyana Chronicle that the government has paid much more attention to the village compared to what occurred under the past administration.

Ernest said through the HEYS programme, she and four other women started a small business in the form of a snackette. The group, called the Aishalton Self Reliance Youth Group, said the project in still ongoing.

“We started and we will never stop trying,” she said, adding that “The money that the government gave us, we put the snackette into operation.”

Ernest said the group plans to start a craft workshop at the snackette and they are saving monies to launch this venture. “I think we have many youths with ideas here,” Ernest said.
The residents noted that the drilling of a well at the village is also another venture which brings benefit to the village since it would enable the villagers to access water during the dry season. Last year, eight wells were drilled in the Deep South Rupununi, including at Aishalton.

The project is a joint venture between the Engineering Corps of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Sixth Construction Battalion of the Brazilian Armed Forces with support from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), Hydrometeorological office and the Ministries of Communities and Public Infrastructure.