– promises caretakers stipends for helping students from far-flung villages

ONCE re-elected to government, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition will construct a secondary school and a dormitory in Karasabai, Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Valarie Garrido-Lowe promised. In the interim, the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry will offer stipends to guardians who have opened up their homes to children attending the Karasabai Secondary Department from far-flung villages.

The need for a secondary school, a dormitory, and stipends for the guardians were among issues raised during a meeting in Karasabai with Vice-President and Minster of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock; Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams; and Minister Garrido-Lowe . More than 300 residents from Karasabai and neighbouring villages gathered at Cashew Grove Park in the village nestled in the heart of the Pakaraima Mountains, to hear from the officials and voice their concerns.

During the interactive session, it was explained that in September 2018, the Karasabai Secondary Department was opened to accommodate children from the village and neighbouring villages such as Taipong and Tiger Pond. That department now has 173 students, however, 79 of them live with guardians because their homes are located more than five miles away, in the case of those living in Tiger Pond, and even further in case of other villages. The villagers had taken the decision to house the children as part of their push to have a secondary school in Karasabai, but they are now encountering financial challenges.

Marlon Edwards, a resident, requested that a dorm be built in the village to accommodate the students but until that is done, the guardians should receive financial support.

“For some parents it is a burden, an economic burden in Karasabai. Some of us, we don’t have a stable income, so to provide for these students, it is a burden. So if we can get some assistance from central government, that would be good.” Edwards said.

Headmistress for the Karasabai Primary School and Secondary Department, Michelle George, said more than 30 families accommodate the 79 children, with one family keeping as many as five children. She noted that while the 363 students from the primary school and secondary department are provided with lunch through the government’s hot meal feeding programme, finding additional food for the 79 children has become burdensome.

“The problem is finding food every day. They are getting the hot meals in school but guardians still have to provide them with breakfast and dinner every single day,” George told the Guyana Chronicle on the meeting’s sideline.

To make ends meet, the children would have to farm and hunt. “Some of them, they bring their farine but that’s all they are bringing. The guardians take them to the pond to do fishing; the girls, they take them to farm to pull out cassava, to help make cassava bread, just to help out”, George explained.

She further pointed out that upon their arrival at Karasabai last September, it was discovered that many of the children had no clothes, nor did their parents send them with hammocks or beds to sleep on. “Some of the guardians gave up their beds, their bedrooms, and their hammocks, just to accommodate these children,” the headteacher said, as she painted a picture of the situation. “Some of the parents, they just dump their children, they just bring them and leave them there. They are not looking back”, George complained.

Other residents at the meeting expressed similar concerns. In responding to their cries, Minister Garrido-Lowe said while the Ministry did not budget for guardians to be provided with stipends to take care of the 79 students, given the need, the ministry would source finance.

“If we had known before, definitely it would have been a line item there to be catered for in the budget, nevertheless…what I can promise you, as soon as we go back, Minister Allicock and I, and our scholarship department, will examine what monies we may have available from different line items….to pinch a little from here, pinch a little from there so that all the 30 parents or more can be assisted with a stipend until we can cater for you in the 2020 budget”, Minister Garrido-Lowe said. She also thanked the families in Karasabai for opening their homes to the children.

The junior minister of indigenous peoples’ affairs also assured the residents that construction of a secondary school and a dorm in Karasabai would be high on the agenda of the APNU+AFC government, once re-elected to office. “I am sure that the APNU+AFC government will consider building a proper school and a dormitory to cater for the Karasabai District in 2020,” she said to loud rounds of applause.

Currently, the secondary department is housed in the primary school however; a plot of land has already been identified by the villagers for the construction of the Karasabai Secondary School. Having a new school and a dorm in the village would also provide additional jobs for the villagers, the junior minister noted.

Weighing in on the topic, Minister Allicock said that the issue regarding the guardians could have been prevented. “If things were planned properly, you would not have had this problem. We would have known that so many children are coming, we need stipend, we need transport, we need more equipment, and an extension, and you would have been more comfortable”, Minister Allicock reasoned while assuring the residents that their pleas have been heard.

The minister of indigenous peoples’ affairs told the residents that their district regional officer, village councillors, regional councillors and Regional Democratic Council should plan more effectively, and in conjunction with central gvernment to offer the necessary relief.

Meanwhile, Seon Kartright thanked the government for offering 13 scholarships for persons in the village to attend the University of Guyana (UG), Guyana School of Agriculture and the Government Technical Institute, and other educational institutions. Kartight explained that the scholarships were secured following an engagement with the Minister of State, Joseph Harmon. “Whoever wants to study, whoever wants to go to Georgetown and study, this is the time. The time is now” another resident said. The 13 scholarships will complement the ones being offered by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs.