READ! READ! READ!

This week, the Pepperpot team took to the Soesdyke-Linden Highway once again to the community of Kuru Kururu. Stories by Shirley Thomas. Photos by Samuel Maughn.
VETERAN teacher and educator Pearl James, with a wealth of experience in teaching, has been and continues to be the icon behind the promotion of reading, which takes centre stage in the Kuru Kururu community on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

James is a remigrant from the U.S. In 1986, with a passion for reading and the desire to see it grow within the community and the wider neighbourhood, James founded the Kuru Kururu Book Club. Initially, the club’s focus was on reading for children; but the activity blossomed and bloomed, and before she knew it, parents had also come on board.
The initiative gained momentum and soon she was able to promote a culture of reading in Kuru Kururu, with it spilling over into neighbouring communities. The momentum continued for the next 25 years with the support of entities such as the Rotary Club of Demerara. Following its Silver Jubilee, in 2012 it ceased to function, making way for the Kuru Kururu Reading and Research Centre in the years to come.

Having founded the Kuru Kururu Book Club in 1986, James promoted a culture of reading amongst the children of the neighbourhood at first, then later involved the parents, who responded favourably. The momentum continued and for many, the desire to read became almost inherent, awaiting only a spark.

The start of the club
Speaking with the Pepperpot Magazine Pearl James, wife of Civil Engineer Clarence Young, recalled, “In 1997, I returned from the USA and found out that the children couldn’t read. The Extension Centre here at Kuru Kururu had just opened and I asked the chief executive officer for us to use the lecture hall and got the permission.

“The response was heartening and so was the support of the Rotary Club of Demerara. As a result of their support and the commitment of persons in the likes of Lance Hinds, Joel Trotman and others having started the Book Club, we soon got a community library which was later to become the Kuru Kururu Reading and Research Centre.”

Today, even though the Reading and Research Centre remains alive, interest in reading within the community seems to have waned. James expressed concern that even though the children are visiting and using the facilities offered by the library (RRC), the parents no longer participate the way they did before and the television seems to have replaced that interest.

“Indeed, the children of Grades One to Six are using the library, but the grown-ups don’t go [in large numbers] anymore,” she observed. Asked what message she would like to send out to the parents, her response was: “They’re missing out on something vital. Unless you know to read, you’re at a distinct disadvantage and as the world moves on, you’d be left behind wondering what’s happening,” she reasoned.

But amidst all of this, there is something for which James is eternally grateful: “What I have observed is that all the children who showed interest in and benefitted from the Book Club when it first started, have now become teachers and that’s a plus,” she proudly announced.

The digital age
James observed too, that with the emergence of cellular phones – smartphones and the like, a lot of readers have turned into non-readers. She warned against this practice, cautioning that unless people are literate, they can miss out on what computers, cellphones and the internet have to offer. “Unless a person is able to read, they won’t be able to read and follow the instructions given, which will allow them to maximise the benefits of reading and following instructions so as to get what they want out of their smartphones and computers,” James advised, adding: “It’s sort of like beating a dead horse. I do feel a little sad about what’s happening to reading.”

A genuine love
James, an ardent lover of reading, has been in the teaching profession for a number of years. “I’ve taught at Agricola Methodist School; the Methodist Guild Club; Trinity Methodist and Kitty Methodist for the last eight years prior to leaving for the United States Of America. After securing her degree in Elementary Education, James taught for two years in Cleveland, Ohio, before returning to Guyana.

The mother of three daughters, James on returning to Guyana, applied for a plot of land for residential purposes. They secured a massive plot in Kuru Kururu where they were able to construct a beautifully designed house, surrounded by a sprawling orchard accommodating dozens of bearing fruit trees on the periphery.

Against the backdrop that children from the reading programme at Kuru Kururu have been doing so well – passing their exams and moving on to become teachers– the Kuru Kururu Book Club and its Reading and Research Centre can be said to be the pillars upon which the literacy and ultimately the quality of education of the people of that community stand.