GSA student makes Mon Repos her ‘home away from home’

BRITNEY Sarius is a second-year student who is studying for her Diploma in Agriculture at the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA). She thanks the people of Mon Repos for helping in preservation of the institution, so that students like herself can have a place to further their studies.

Britney is a resident student from the village of Orealla, in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), an indigenous community on the Corentyne River. Coming from that area, Britney explained that agriculture is not the main economic activity: “Logging, fishing and small-scale farming are what the people mostly do in my community.”

As a child, Britney explained that she grew up in a single-parent home with her father as a young child, and later she lived with her mother as a teenager. Life wasn’t always easy for Britney, but she fell in love with agriculture after being exposed to it in secondary school. According to her, she developed a love for the subject, especially the practical aspect of it. Even though it wasn’t the ideal job in her community and considering the fact that she is a female, it seemed a bit far-fetched for her to join the sector.

However, Britney did not allow those reasons to stop her from pursuing her dreams, more so, she saw that it is one of the sectors that provide an opportunity to earn a lot of money if it’s done correctly. “I love farming and I decided that I will continue my studies in agriculture. I know it is profitable and I want to earn an honest dollar too. But I didn’t think about GRA; I was thinking more along the line of going into forestry,” said Britney.

Britney explained that she always wanted to be an independent person — someone who does not have to wait for someone to give her anything and could afford to buy herself whatever she needs. “The way I grew up, it was tough. From what I saw growing up, I never wanted to be like that; I always wanted to have my own stuff, but I wanted to work for it and accomplish my dreams,” Britney related.

Britney said she had a cousin who did the diploma in agriculture at GSA and shared her experience with her. Upon hearing that, she decided to “follow in her footsteps,” but Britney also saw the need for and importance of it in her community of Orealla. According to her, “I see that we can do this on a large-scale basis so that the people can generate money for themselves and that will in turn help in the development of the community.”

Britney took the opportunity to tell the young people to stay focused, educate themselves, and know that anything they put their minds to, they can accomplish it. She always wanted them to know that it is hard work and you must make sacrifices to get what you want to accomplish, but she reminded them that anything is possible through God.

Being at GSA was hard for Britney to get adjusted to at first, but she noted that her fellow friends and students are friendly, they are all faced with their own challenges, but they are also a family there too.