Moraikobai, situated up the Mahaicony River, on Sunday became the latest beneficiary under President David Granger’s Five B’s or ‘Boats, Buses, Bicycles plus Breakfast and Books’ Programme, which is aimed at ensuring that every child gets to and stays in school.
A release from the Ministry of the Presidency said that Granger commissioned a 42-seater boat, which was donated by the Guyana Goldfields Incorporated/Aurora Gold Project. The company had handed over the boat to Minister of Social Cohesion, Amna Ally, earlier this year.
The President also committed to ensuring that a number of bicycles are handed over to the community before the beginning of the new school term.
The President said that in November 2015, three women – Deputy Toshao, Mary Joseph; Shenelle Adrian and Lynette Adrian- from the village visited him at the Ministry of the Presidency, where they explained the plight of the students, who travel as much as 100 miles to get to the Central Mahaicony Secondary School. They had told Granger that the children are forced to pay as much as $3000 per day to travel out of the village to attend school. Consequently, school dropouts and absenteeism had become prevalent.
“I was encouraged to come here by three wise women. They came to me last year November and I did promise to come and today I am fulfilling that promise. What they asked me for, was a boat and I have brought the boat. These are the women who came out of this river and took the initiative to come and see me. I didn’t refuse to see them. I didn’t tell a clerk to see them. They came into my office and I gave them my word. I am honouring that promise,” the President said.
Toshao of Moraikobai, Collin Adrian, expressed his thanks, noting that it is heartening to see the President keep his promise which he had made to the women who had visited his office in November last year.
He also extended thanks to the Government for its quick response to the village’s flooding situation about two weeks ago.
Joseph, who was one of the women who had visited Granger in November, expressed her gratitude, noting that the President’s actions to honour his promise, has not gone unnoticed.
“I feel so great that the President has really stood to his word and I know that he didn’t fool us. He promised us and he has dedicated himself and came to us and delivered and for that we are most grateful,” she said, according to the release.
The boat is expected to benefit at least 50 students and Headmistress of the St. Francis Primary School, Shalome Calistro, hopes that it will significantly boost the morale of the students and parents alike.
To date, eight boats and nine buses have been commissioned by the President while hundreds of bicycles have been distributed to communities across the ten regions of the country.
