CAMILLE’S Academy founder marks milestone with launch of official education trust foundation.

In honour of her three-decade mark as an educator, Executive Director and founder of Camille’s Academy Inc. (CAI), Ms Camille Deokie Gorakh, has announced the launch of the school’s official education trust foundation. The milestone coincides with the academy’s 25th anniversary as a registered private institute in Guyana.

The CAI Education Trust Foundation is a scholarship programme designed to benefit students in need of academic support.

Deokie Gorakh said that over the years, CAI has provided full and partial scholarships to hundreds of students. However, to mark key calendar events, the board has decided to use a more structured approach to support those deserving of scholarships.

The CAI founder noted that “Every year, we give out scholarships and several of our awardees have done well for themselves. One of our earliest scholarship recipients is from a single-parent home; he went on to a management role at Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).”

“Another student, Dianna Persaud, had dropped out of school; she needed a second chance, but she had passed the age required for re-entry to the public school system. Camille’s Academy admitted her on a scholarship; after repeating a class, she became the school’s valedictorian. She later earned a scholarship opportunity from the UK-based oil company Noble Corporation to study at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Another partial scholarship awardee who faced financial constraints at home went on to become a senior air traffic control officer and later an aviation training director,” she added.

For Deokie Gorakh, one of the most important measures of the school’s impact is the students whose paths changed because someone gave them another chance.

“For this reason,” she said, “we have decided to continue to offer these opportunities with some structure and a clearer list of criteria.”

Additionally, she said that the school will launch its formal alumni association, “so former students can remain connected to the institution and help guide its future.”

REFLECTIONS

Speaking of the school’s wider impact, the seasoned educator told this publication that, in its own unique way, CAI has, for the past two decades, helped shape Guyana’s education landscape.

The school is recognised as one of the first known private school established along the corridors of the East Bank of Demerara, offering holistic academic learning to children aged three to 17 years.

Founded as Camille’s Institute for Business and Science in the early 2000s in Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara, and later renamed Camille’s Academy Inc., the school has added three other campuses across the coastland—including at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara; Crane, West Coast Demerara; and Diamond, East Bank Demerara.

Deokie Gorakh believes that despite the years and inevitable growth, CAI has remained true to its people-centred and community-minded roots.

She explained, “When I began my teaching profession in 1996… I was responding to requests from my neighbours to help tutor their children; opening a private school was not on my mind. I was just 16 years old, fresh out of high school, having achieved good grades at CXC. I got five subjects, and at that time, that was regarded as a notable achievement. So, my neighbours thought it was a good idea for me to tutor their children. At that time, a few students came in the afternoon for lessons, and my father transformed his garage into a learning space.”

The part-time teaching gig soon blossomed into something the young tutor could have never imagined at the time. As students improved and parents saw results, her classroom grew by the dozens.

Just through word of mouth, students gathered in her yard to benefit from her tutelage. Seeing the growth, Deokie Gorakh’s father supported the effort in practical ways, setting up the garage and building desks, benches, and a blackboard. The young teacher later sought to improve her knowledge and skill in computer literacy. As her skills grew, she bought three computers on hire purchase to further expand her knowledge.

“I committed to paying for them on my own because I wanted to claim that responsibility as my own,” she said.

She continued, “By 1998, I was teaching computer studies at International Business College during the day and continuing the lessons in the evenings.”

Guided by a belief that learning should continue throughout life, the young teacher kept studying and later gained entry into the University of Guyana, where she pursued a degree in computer science.

Her parents later encouraged her to make teaching her full-time work. Deokie Gorakh soon opened a private school from her family home, with approximately 65 students.

Two former students, Kamini Jhaman and Polly Ragnauth, joined her as teachers, along with a cousin, Devin, who supported mathematics instruction. She registered the business in January 2000, at age 20.

The academy grew exponentially, and within a few years, its enrolment expanded beyond what the yard could hold, so Deokie Gorakh’s father built the school’s first concrete building. On April 14, 2003, the school moved into its first permanent premises and began offering primary and secondary education. A CSEC programme followed. Scholarships and fee assistance became part of the school’s culture, extending opportunities to students whose families could not readily afford private education.

“We made private learning comfortable and affordable for many people in the village and nearby communities,” she said, adding that, to this day, family and community remain a hallmark of the business.

To this day, her family, close-knit community and staff members remain an integral part of the CAI success story. “My husband Rabbie and our four sons are all key parts of my support system,” the founder added.

SETBACK

Nevertheless, the business did not reach this level of success without a setback. In 2005, an arson-related fire damaged part of her first school building in Soesdyke. Neighbours who spotted smoke during the night raised the alarm and helped save part of the structure. Through the adversity, however, Deokie Gorakh discovered her resilience and courage to pivot.

The school expanded into a rented building in Covent Garden before establishing its second permanent location along Diamond Public Road.

PIVOT

Still expanding its operations, Camille’s Academy faced what many saw as another impediment to its growth when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

Under the visionary leadership of Deokie Gorakh, however, it proved to be the opposite.

She reflected, “We were still looking to expand our operations, but then COVID hit, and all schools were closed. As a private school, we were severely affected because, for us to remain in business, we had to keep providing a service. We quickly adapted by developing an online learning platform. By May 2020, students were learning online, allowing classes to continue.”

Amidst the uncertainty of the pandemic, the academy opened a campus in Lusignan in 2020, followed by a Crane campus on the West Coast in 2021.

The pandemic also prompted a shift in Deokie Gorakh. The executive director strongly believes students should leave school with more than examination results. As a result, the academy began placing greater emphasis on holistic education, combining academic achievement with activities and life skills that help young people understand themselves, work with others and meet the demands of adult life.

“We added yoga and wellness; leadership, resilience and emotional intelligence became part of that broader approach, alongside extracurricular programmes that nurture students’ interests and talents.”

“Education is not a cost; it is an investment,” she often reminds parents.

NOTEWORTHY RECOGNITION

For her notable strides as an educator, the Camille’s Academy founder received a Woman in Business award from the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2021; she later received the Best Service-Based Business award through BizX America in 2022, and in 2023, the school received the top “Innovation and Creativity” award from the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) for pioneering safe, technology-driven learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry also recognised the academy with a Business Excellence award in 2024.

In 2025, the academy was named Best School with Holistic Learning at the World School Summit in Malaysia. Later that year, Deokie Gorakh was among a group of international educators and schools recognised at the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, where Camille’s Academy received a Best Innovative School award. She said the occasion was especially meaningful to her because, 25 years after formally registering the business, she stood in the UK Parliament receiving international recognition for work that began in a family yard.

At the 2026 World School Summit in Dubai, Deokie Gorakh received a Visionary Leader Award. Two long-serving directors who had joined her early in the academy’s development were also recognised for their 25 years in education. The Guyanese woman in business, who holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Australian Institute of Business, also received an honorary doctorate from Maryland State University.

Her achievements have been chronicled in two books, Notable Guyanese Women Business Leaders by Lal Balkarran and Bankable by Guyanese business coaching expert Dr Vishnu Doerga. Not quite finished yet, Deokie Gorakh ultimately has her sights set on adding six more locations to CAI’s fleet of campuses. She has a date in mind—the year 2030.