Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, yesterday visited the village of Aliki, Essequibo Islands- West Demerara (Region Three), where he provided a school boat for the students in the area as had been promised.
A release from the Ministry of the Presidency said that the Director General also handed over 100 pairs of school shoes to the Headmaster of the Aliki Primary School, Ganesh Dugan.
The release said that during a meeting held in the community on June 30, 2019 by Harmon and Minister of Business, Haimraj Rajkumar, residents had made a request for a school boat. The Director General subsequently promised the residents that the boat would be delivered to the community in time for the commencement of the new school term in September.
Addressing the residents at the Aliki Primary School, minutes after the boat was handed over to the Headmaster, Harmon said “I am delighted to be here to deliver on the commitment which we made when we were here in June. We wanted to ensure that the children can get to school and get so on time. It is a commitment that we do not take lightly because it has to do with the education of our children and as you are aware, (President David Granger) has put high priority on education in this country.
The release said that the boat was donated by Tulsi Persaud, a businessman from the neighbouring village of Lanaballi.
Persaud in an invited comment, said that as a child, born and raised in a riverine community, he had to paddle to get to school every day. He noted that he has been observing the ‘Boats, Buses and Bicycles’ initiative by President Granger and when he was approached by the Director General to consider assisting the community, it was an easy decision to make.
Persaud also said that he has decided to take it a step forward and will be handing over two more boats in the coming weeks to serve the students in Lanaballi, Bonasika and surrounding communities.
