The winners of the World Refugee Day 2022 Migrant Essay Competition received their prizes from the Ministry of Education and the Pan-American Development Foundation (PADF) during a ceremony yesterday at the Ministry’s 26 Brickdam office.
The Coordinator of the Ministry of Education’s Disaster Risk Prevention and Migrant Support Unit, Rampattie Prashad-Bisnauth said that the idea for the competition came about after interacting with Emily Vaamonde-Beria, a migrant student who topped the Crane Primary School last year at the National Grade Six Assessment.
She said that the student shared her experience on her journey from Venezuela to Guyana and that it was interesting hearing the story being told from a child’s point of view, a release from the ministry said. As such, she thought it would be a great idea to allow other students to share their experiences.
“We should give children that chance to express themselves so that we can understand from their point of view how they feel about the whole process of journeying from whichever country and it’s not only Venezuela. We have students from Venezuela, Trinidad, Barbados, Suriname, Ukraine, the US and we have two from Canada recently. So, we have students from different countries,” Bisnauth said.
She said that currently, there are 2098 migrant students enrolled in public schools. Further, she said that the competition did not only have participants from different countries but also students who moved from one region in Guyana to another.
Chief Education Officer, Dr. Marcel Hutson said that the Ministry is moving towards developing a language policy. He said that the policy will be holistic.
He added that this is just the beginning of many programmes of that nature that will be rolled out.
Meanwhile, Project Director of the Pan-American Development Foundation, Jermaine Grant said that the Ministry of Education among other agencies has been very supportive of the effective integration of migrants and refugees. He said that it is notable that the Ministry has set up the Migrant Support Unit.
He said that the competition was not just an essay competition, but it was a competition that allowed Guyanese as well as migrant children to articulate their stories and understanding of what it is like to be a migrant.
Assistant Chief Education Officer (Literacy), Samantha Williams said that the Ministry of Education is committed to ensuring that all children acquire basic literacy skills. She said that this is evident with the establishment of a new Department of Literacy.
Williams said that since the department was established in January of this year, officers have been working in various schools and communities to promote literacy so that citizens can achieve a functional literacy level.
According to Williams, her department is working on a bilingual programme to support the use of indigenous languages within the school system. She said that in Region Nine, the Ministry has started in three nursery schools where students are being taught in their native language within the school.
According to the release, she said the programme will evolve to cater for children who speak other indigenous languages. She said that the Ministry is very committed to ensuring that the population achieves functional skills so that all Guyanese can contribute not only to the development of their families but also to the growth and development of Guyana.
The winners are:
Region One
White Water Primary – 1st – Junior La Cruz
Mabaruma Primary – 2nd – Escarli Marquez
Region Two
C.V. Nunes Primary – 1st – Madison Chappell
C.V. Nunes Primary – 2nd – Samuel Jaikissoon
Region Three
Meten-Meer-Zorg Primary – 1st – Robert Matheus
Belle West Primary – 2nd – Angelia Ondhram
Tuschen Primary – 3rd – Jose Rondon
Windsor Forest Primary – 3rd – Sheila Parray
Belle West Primary – 3rd – Trellisa Anastacia Schultz Parks
Region Four
Plaisance Primary – 1st – Kezia George
Plaisance Primary – 2nd – Orlando Pooran
Plaisance Primary – 3rd – Tejini Ronald
Region Five
Novar Primary school – 1st – Steve Pancham
No. 29 Primary – 2nd – Kehandra Frazer
Calcutta Primary – 3rd – Akeisha Lindo
Region Seven
St. Anthony’s Primary – 1st – Emily Josannys Lugo
St. John – The – Baptist Primary – 2nd- Jairo Diaz
St. Anthony’s Primary – 3rd – Jose Daniel Silva
Region Ten
Mackenzie Primary – 1st – Dairelys Rodriquez
Amelia’s Ward Primary – 2nd – Ameer Khan
Georgetown
North Georgetown Primary – 1st – Leanna Carmichael
North Georgetown Primary – 2nd – Jayla Harris
St. Stephen’s Primary – 3rd – Ethan Sookan
