By Lisa Hamilton
Unity Grant, a small community in Region One (Barima-Waini) is in dire need of financial support so that the approximately 27 children living there can have easier access to education as afforded on the coastland.
Thanks to Dr. Derron Moonsammy, a health worker at the Kumaka District Hospital in Moruca, the plight of the community has been placed in the spotlight. In August 2020, Dr. Moonsammy and a team visited the area on medical outreach and found that it was without electricity, running water, easy access to education, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Though the team was able to provide the latter, several other issues stood out like a sore thumb. There are just over 40 households in the village. Most of the residents are employed by the Amazon-Caribbean Company (AMCAR), where they cut and sell acai ‘cabbage’ or work directly with the company. Apart from this, they farm and fish, surviving off the land on which they live.
Persons have lived in the area for many years with as many as 70 households at one point, however, many left the area due to the unavailability of basic services.
“No one has latrines or any toilets there. So, wherever they go, it washes back into the river and, in the dry season, they drink back that same water and they get diarrhea and vomiting. It’s a vicious cycle,” Dr. Moonsammy told Village Voice Guyana.
When the health team visited, the village leader, Carl Norton, used the opportunity to raise the key issue of access to education which he said is out of reach for children there, ages three to 15. “He [Norton] said that the closest place to go for school was Warapoka. This community is miles away and the children had to leave by 5 am and paddle 5 hours to get there at 10 am when school is already in session.
They would leave around 1 pm while school is still in session to get back to their village at 6 pm. This they did for two days and the third day they were tired. They missed days because of being tired and their absence accumulated and they were taken off the register. So they don’t go to school. In his house, he has some words on the wall in an attempt to teach some there. This made me really sad,” Dr. Moonsammy shared publicly.
Later contacted by the Village Voice, the doctor explained that it took his team about one and a half-hour by speed boat to reach the community which is about the same distance the children must paddle to make it to the school.
Hoping to bring help to the community in time for Christmas, Dr. Moonsammy used his social media platform to request that persons able to do so assist financially or with the provision of needed items. One of the items is a speedboat and engine to take the children to Warapoka and back. Though the community previously had a speedboat it is no longer operational.
Dr. Moonsammy also wants to provide the children there with electronic tablets with educational information downloaded, applicable to their ages. He hopes that this information can be updated monthly and that teachers will be able to visit to assist with learning.
However, for this to be possible, Unity Grant will also need solar panels. This would provide electricity to power the tablets and villagers could then also access 2G data from a source point nearby. Though the Ministry of Education has put out effort to provide worksheets to far-flung communities without reliable internet access, Unity Grant has not received such. These were likely provided in Warapoka.
“This is an expensive endeavor and I’m realizing I can’t do this alone. If anyone would like to help me with this I would be very grateful. If this could be done for Christmas it be would such a blessing to those little ones,” Dr. Moonsammy said online. Several persons have made pledges but the goal is yet to be achieved. Those interested in supporting the initiative can contact Dr. Moonsammy at +592-687-8654.
