The stress that parents endure in sending their children to school by a two to three mile trek or facing the high cost for a taxi from Water Front, Lamp Island and other far reaching communities of Kwakwani is now a thing of the past.
Thanks to the community development spirit of the Upper Berbice Forest Producers and Agriculture Association (UBFAPA).
Recently the UBFAPA handed over a thirty-two seat school bus to the community after it was commissioned by Parliamentary Majority Leader Brigadier David Granger who was in the community at the time.
There was a long felt need for the bus and it was pursued as a project of the local organization and according to residents it shows their commitment.
“We are so, so thankful to the association for doing this for our children they always helping out in whatever way they can in this community,” said a happy mother who says her children are among the beneficiaries.
According to Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon who was also on hand to witness the historic ceremony, Opposition Leader Granger applauded their ongoing efforts, and encouraged every community to engage in similar initiatives, to pool their resources to purchase things beneficial to their respective communities.
According to residents of the Upper Berbice District of Kwakwani, school children from nursery to secondary school have been finding it very difficult for years to attend school on time. The children, the residents said, were forced to walk some two to three miles of very terrible, muddy, roads during the rainy season and in dusty conditions when it was not raining.
According to Solomon, “The logging communities recognising the neglect of their community by the government decided to pool their resources and took on this worthwhile venture (purchasing a school bus).”
The bus will be maintained by the community and the association.
