One hundred children from the villages of Friendship and Buxton are benefitting from a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) sponsored three-week summer camp that would see them being taught life skills and computer techniques with drama and sports also thrown in.
It all started out with a meeting between Chief of Staff, Commodore Gary Best and senior GDF officers and concerned members of civil society over what was taking place in the two villages. According to Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, who was one of the persons who met with Best and others, they were concerned with the development in the villages and they wrote to the Chief of Staff requesting a meeting.
Their request was granted and they discussed several issues with the officers at Camp Ayanganna during a two-hour period and it was suggested that a meeting be facilitated between the GDF and residents of the area. And out of that last meeting the idea of the summer camp was born. It was not the first time the army has facilitated a camp in Buxton as another one had been held in 2005.
Speaking at the launching of the camp yesterday at the Friendship Primary School, acting Chief of Staff Colonel Mark Phillips said that as Guyana “forges its national destiny of enhancing the economic, cultural and social fortunes of our citizens, it is the duty of the Guyana Defence Force to work with all stakeholders to provide a necessary stable and secure environment which is desirable for all our people to prosper.”
He pointed out that one of the functions of the GDF is to contribute to the national development of the country hence the camp.
He said that his organisation has recognized the importance of working with the country’s youths. “If we are to progress as a nation we need to start with our young people,” Phillips noted.
He also recalled that as a child he attended summer camps and he expressed the hope that in another fifteen years or so some of the children in the present camp may become members of the GDF and those who don’t would take their education and role in society seriously. “We expect that all you would have learnt, not only from your summer camp but from your school environment would certainly be of benefit to you in the future.”
The acting chief of staff also noted that since it is the period of Emancipation the role the two villages played in the post-Emancipation period should not be forgotten. “The name Buxton is etched in that history,” he said, adding that a number of great educators have come out of the village of Buxton.
“The future of Guyana, the future of the Guyana Defence Force and the future of all our organisations in this country depends on how we nurture our youths and this is yet another opportunity for you as young people to understand more about our important institutions through the visits and the lectures you will have on this summer camp. And this will help you with the determination of a career choice.”
He encouraged the younger participants to remain in school and play a meaningful part in the development of Guyana. The senior officer also tasked his officers to ensure that the youths are present at the opening session of the upcoming CARIFESTA X celebrations as a climax of their camp.
The camp is geared for youths between the ages of nine and twenty and while some 200 youths turned up on Tuesday to be part of the camp, only 100 could have been chosen.
They were expected yesterday to visit several locations, including the National Stadium and the museum.
Other activities that they would be involved in are fashion design, photography and the making of puppets. A visit to the army’s Air Corps and Coast Guard locations is also planned.
