THE Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Cuyuni Mazaruni (Region Seven) is working assiduously to ensure the children of Eteringbang are provided with a space for schooling from this September.

This was confirmed by Regional Chairman, Gordon Bradford, who, on Tuesday, told the Guyana Chronicle that a team from the RDC and contractors are travelling to the village on Thursday, to assess the area and see what can be done for September.

He said the contract was awarded to K & P Project Management to the tune of $25M, to construct the primary school. However, it is not possible for the school to be completed by September.

“The contractors are now mobilising the site and the materials needed for construction. This is a very difficult task and lengthy process because in the hinterland, it is harder to access materials; hence, almost everything needed will have to be taken in by plane.
“And that includes the wood and everything because there is no sawmill there. So to take materials there alone, will take up time,” Bradford explained.

Despite the various challenges, he said the contractors have a timeframe to work with, to complete the school, and that is before year-end. In the interim, the RDC is working on a building that is made available to the students for the time being.

“We don’t want the children to wait until the school is completed, to start having access to schooling. We want them to start from this new school term, and not have them lapsing and out of school. So we are going in to Eteringbang Thursday, trying hard to get it done. We have to take in furniture and everything to set up this space,” Bradford said.
In addition to that, the Regional Education Department was tasked with providing the uniforms, books, backpacks and everything the children needed to return to school from September.

Eteringbang is located on the Upper-Cuyuni River, close to the Guyana-Venezuela border, and Bradford explained that the children in Eteringbang went to San Marten Primary School in Venezuela, since there is no school in their village.

However, at the advent of the ongoing crisis in Venezuela, the school was closed and the children of Eteringbang were without schooling

As such, this contract was urgently needed so that the children can have access to foundation education.

Currently, the region is trying to source teachers, Bradford said. Due to the fact that there are no teachers’ quarters in that part of the region, they are unable to send teachers from the coastland. However, they are trying to source persons in the village, who have the necessary qualifications.

As it relates to secondary schooling, Bradford said the region provides flight, uniforms, food, and everything needed for the children to attend the Waramadong Secondary School, and they reside at the school’s dormitory.

Another contract for the construction of a school at Kako Village in the Upper-Mazaruni was earlier awarded to K&P Project Management. To date, construction of the facility is 30 per cent complete. At completion, the cost will run close to $29M.

At Imbaimadai, construction of another primary school is 40 per cent completed.
The contract for this project was awarded to J’s General Store and Construction, to the tune of more than $25M. The estimated time of completion for all three projects is four months. Imbaidamai is a traditional mining community adjoining Amerindian lands, while Kako is a community of the Akawaio Indigenous nation, consisting of some 700 residents.

Eteringbang is also a mining community adjoining Amerindian lands, and has seen an influx of immigrants fleeing the economic crisis in Venezuela.