Leader of the Opposition, David Granger on Monday paid a visit to the Lusignan-Good Hope Learning Centre, East Coast Demerara.
A release from APNU said that the centre which was established in 2009 by Sandra Shivdat and her brother Noel Naraine caters for the learning
and developmental needs of more than one hundred and thirty five children from the Lusignan-Good Hope communities.
The release said that Director of the Centre, Sandra Shivdat, a New Jersey-based accountant, told the Opposition Leader that the main reason for opening the facility was the acute poverty and alarming rates of illiteracy plaguing the area.
The primary emphasis at the learning centre, the release said, is literacy and numeracy and toward this end there are six classes held daily. Starting at 12:00 noon, these early classes cater for school dropouts.
There are also after-school programmes from 2:30 pm until 5:00 pm. Computer classes are convened in the Centre’s computer lab on Saturdays. Other services provided at the centre include medical care to those in need, along with free meals, clothing and school supplies.
According to the release, Shivdat said she wants the centre to be a sanctuary, a place where children would want to come to, “A place not only for learning, but a safe-haven for those who come from broken or abusive homes.
I do not want to be their parents, I want them to be better; I want them to move forward, and education is the way forward.”
Granger said that he was very impressed with the work of the centre and thanked Shivdat and her brother for their commitment.
