THE new library that is coming on stream in Annai Village, North Rupununi, is a welcome initiative that has the potential to change the academics of schoolchildren and even their parents, Secretary/Treasurer for the Annai Central Village Council Bernie Robertson believes.

Backpack International Inc. (BPI), a non-profit organisation started in 2016, collaborated with the South Colonie Central School District in New York to host a book parade to celebrate the philanthropic efforts of the students at Sand Creek Middle School.

The Student Council had launched a school-wide service project to collect 5,000 books to benefit the new library in Annai, but over 12,000 were collected that will eventually be shipped to the Region Nine location.

“The library project is one of a kind that will happen in North Rupununi, in Annai Village. Many schools are limited in resources, especially when it comes to books. This will change the academics of students where children will learn how to read [and] do research and other things,” Robertson said in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle recently.

According to him, the new project, which will see an underutilized community building being transformed into a library, will not just benefit residents of Annai, but any other surrounding villages in the Rupununi.

Robertson pointed out this because there is no other community library nearby.

“Many of the children in North Rupununi cannot read well because they do not have the resources,” he added.

Robertson, who spends some of his time helping young children learn to read, is hoping that parents in the village will encourage their children to do more reading and help them to do so.

“I would like to see parents take more interest in their children’s education and in their own also, so that they can help others in the community.”

Meanwhile, overseas-based Guyanese Oslyn Rodriguez is the founder of BPI, which she started with a global mission to equip students in need with overall academic success.

She returned to Guyana after being away for 14 years and wanted to offer her assistance in anyway she could.

In an interview with this publication, she said the goal is to equip students with books, shoes, clothing, hygiene products, bicycles, and other items they may need for school.

Regarding the library, she disclosed that BPI is also looking to train a librarian and help the residents at Annai develop a catalogue system to assist the library users. Furthermore, some 200 chairs will also be donated to the library.

Having already collected the books, the next phase of the project is to be able to raise enough money to ship them to Guyana. A trip is scheduled here for December 26-31, 2022, to dedicate the library.