Dear Editor,
Saraswati Vidya Niketan (SVN) 2012 CSEC results have once again made us all proud as supporters of this unique Hindu secondary school, which welcomes teachers and students from other religious persuasions.
Stabroek News of August 15, 2012 carried a letter from Principal Swami Aksharananda outlining the results with a detailed analysis in comparison with other schools, indicating that only two schools performed better.
SVN school opened on World Teachers Day on September 5, 2002 and ever since the first batch of students wrote the CSEC exams in 2005, annual results have placed them within the top 10 per cent of the nation. The day is not far off when it will take the first prize academically, but it is already there in terms of discipline and cultural development. Teachers, parents, employers, and those who are acquainted with the progress of the students have often commented that by the time they graduate the children leave that institution as caring, compassionate, well-rounded human beings, proud of their heritage, and willing and able to share their talents and knowledge of the Vedic Saraswati civilization with anyone. Some of the most memorable time I spent visiting Guyana is on the well-manicured premises in the company of these pleasant children in an atmosphere most conducive to academic and spiritual growth.
Guyana is still in its primary stage of nation-building and anyone who would like to see it develop with guidance from the eternal values collectively known as Sanatan Dharma should participate in the operation of several similar institutions across the country. In fact, the first school of this kind is still being operated at Cove and John Ashram, but Guyanese missed an opportunity earlier by not establishing similar institutions across the coastland.
Guyana has produced many priests and politicians but so far only one Swami Aksharananda, an individual who was born in the same village where the school is located and who has dedicated his life to learning and promoting Vedic knowledge. The history of SVN would indicate how dedicated and determined Swami was to make his vision a reality.
On Krishna Janamasthami 1998 the Bhuma Puja or sod-turning ceremony was performed. In 1999 a few concrete pillars marked the location of the first phase but there was dire need for funds to advance the project when Kishorie Prasad, a humble devotee visited Guyana. Her reputation, contacts and experience in fundraising convinced her that Swami should come to Toronto where she then lived in order to raise funds for the school. A small group under the auspices of Hindu Seva Sangh, in Mississauga held several fundraising events on a continuing basis. They even promoted the school in New York thus expanding the support base from which contributions flowed. The first building was completed and classes started in 2002. Enrolment was slow and three years later only about 70 students attended. The Jung Bahadur Singh scholarship was the first to be established to honour the late Hindu stalwart and to assist deserving students. Many other scholarships followed. Today there are two buildings and the enrolment may soon reach 400. The present educational and moral challenges described by many in Guyana demonstrate an urgent need to expand this school and to establish many other similar private educational institutions. Whether one sees this as a way of contributing to nation building or just the need to help in the total development of a single child, it must be seen as an opportunity to perform karmic deeds.
Bush Lot Vedanta Centre in West Berbice is following in the same path and is experiencing the same initial hurdles as SVN. The building was completed with overseas help initiated by Roy Singh and a group in Toronto. Classes are being conducted, but more scholarships are needed to boost the attendance so that the success of SVN can hopefully be duplicated in a few years.
Maybe supporters from Essequibo and Corentyne can see fit to get on the bandwagon and lift the educational and cultural standards of their respective areas by operating similar schools. Those abroad who once resided in these areas will always contribute to any transparent and accountable organisation, but the initiative must come from Guyana. One suggestion was that there are so many temples in existence every ten could collaborate in operating a single primary or secondary school.
I was at the official opening ceremony of SVN on Mat 11, 2003 as a representative of the Toronto supporters. I vividly recall the picture on the front page of Stabroek News showing the children on stage during the opening prayer. We have asked the editor twice before to save it in the archives confident that it will always be needed to mark successive stages of the school. Perhaps you will once again bring it out and immortalise the work of the late SN chief photographer, Ken Moore, who took the picture.
Yours faithfully,
Ramnarine Sahadeo
Sanatan Dharm Educational Foundation of Canada Inc
