Ahead of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, which are due to commence tomorrow, Digicel Guyana has donated 13,000 reusable face masks and 2,500 face shields for use by students and invigilators across the country.
The donation, valued at over $8 million, was made to the Ministry of Education and the distribution of the safety gear, which is expected to protect wearers from the transmission of COVID-19, was expected to begin last Thursday with a focus on vulnerable regions. Close to 15,000 students and invigilators are expected to benefit from the donation.
“We know it is a challenging time for all, so we thought it best to reach out to provide whatever support we could to the Ministry. We are happy that the Ministry responded favourably to our interest in partnering with them and we hope that this donation will provide some level of comfort to the students and invigilators,” Digicel Guyana’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gregory Dean was quoted as saying in a press release issued by the telecoms provider last Thursday.
Viola Rowe, who was performing duties for the Chief Education Officer and received the donation from Dean on behalf of the ministry, said the donation will certainly go a far way in helping to protect children.
Rowe, the release said, noted that distribution efforts would be concentrated on regions that are more vulnerable and have limited resources at this time. The gear was to be distributed to the Regional Education Offices then to the individual schools.
Rowe expressed her thanks to Digicel on behalf of the Ministry for its continued interest in the advancement of education and for the timely contribution towards the health and wellbeing of CSEC students in a COVID-19 environment.
The release said Digicel remains committed to supporting youths and communities in Guyana and across the region and particularly in the face of COVID-19 pandemic. Its efforts thus far include donation of Personal Protective Equipment gear to frontline workers, free data for health care professionals and teachers, the donation of food items to children’s homes and orphanages, and zero-rated calls to the Ministry of Public Health’s hotlines. Access to the Ministry of Education, PAHO, WHO and the Ministry of Public Health websites also remains free.
In addition, the company noted that it has also introduced several measures that will allow customers to stay connected during this time, including Free Night Talk from 9pm to 6am and removal of Credit U transfer charges.
Digicel encouraged customers to stay safe, remain indoors and wear a face mask when outdoors to help stop the spread of the coronavirus and to only use information from trusted sites like PAHO, WHO, and local government websites.
