Two 11-year-olds from Aroaima and Hururu and a 10-year-old from Kwakwani have been announced the winners in the Bauxite Company Guyana Inc (BCGI) UC Rusal Art Competition, which was recently introduced to the children of three villages to highlight the need for best safety practices among its employees.
Children from schools at Aroiama, Kwakwani and Hururu participated in the contest under the theme ‘My parents are working with BCGI’ and for those whose parents are not employed by the company, ‘How do I imagine work at BCGI.’ The contest was held on May 15 at Aroiama, on May 16 at Hururu and on May 17 at Kwakwani, the company said in a press release.
Prior to the start of the competition the children viewed a short video about the company’s activities. BCGI Translator/Interpreter Maya Lobova made short presentations giving brief guidelines and colouring techniques. Apart from her professional duties as a translator, BCGI said, Lobova is a talented freelance artist whose work has been exhibited globally.
At Aroiama 11-year-old Keana Persaud won the competition, followed by 10-year-old Zeleen La Rose and 11-year-old Carlos Pierre, in second and third places respectively.
At Hururu, where the children can observe the production operation every day, their artwork reflected different aspects of production such as the tugs, with their names correctly spelt, and the barges with bauxite being drawn. Kesley Reis, 11, won the competition while 10-year-old Richie James cane second and nine-year-old Serena Sauers, third.
At Kwakwani, judges and teachers were very impressed with the talent evident in Joshua Grannum’s work. The ten-year-old boy, whose drawings of trucks revealed the talent of a budding graphic designer, won the first place, followed by nine-year-old Nataniel Gordon in second and Julian Elliot in third. The company said Elliot’s work depicted the mining area in an impressionistic way. All participants received gifts of crayons, paints and paint brushes.
All the first place finishers will benefit from a trip to Georgetown on June 1 for the art competition BCGI in collaboration with the Russian Embassy to observe International Children’s Day.
BCGI, a subsidiary of Rusal, said the contest was arranged in order to boost employee morale and to honour its corporate and social responsibility. In addition to Lobova, the judges’ panel comprised BCGI Personnel Manager Elena Gorshkova; Community Liaison Officer Capitan Williams; Personnel Department employee Wendy Sears; Naomi Smith, Principal of the Aroaima Secondary School; Judith Martin, representative from the Kwakwani Secondary School and Holly Ferreira, a representative from the Hururu Academy.
BCGI said over the years it has demonstrated its interest the development of youth.
In 2011 the company installed five computers in a school in Aroaima to provide children with an opportunity to become familiar with modern technology. This month, the company presented a computer to the Kwakwani Primary School. In addition, every year about 300 children in Aroaima and 150 from Kwakwani are treated to goodies and gifts at Christmas and the company purchases 100 presents for children living at Hururu.
