Region One villages get agri equipment, vehicles to benefit schoolchildren, village economy
Government has started off 2022 progressively, with Amerindians benefitting from vehicles and vessels to ease their livelihoods.
Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, M.P, over the weekend travelled to Region One (Barima-Waini), where she presented tractors, a bus and a cheque for a boat to a few communities.
The villages of Mora, Parakeese, 7 Miles Branch Road, Cabrora and Kamwatta each received a tractor, equipped with a trailer and harrow, to aid in their economic development through agriculture.
The equipment will significantly boost the villages’ agricultural production and contribute to President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s vision, of Guyana becoming an agriculture powerhouse.
Minister Sukhai implored the village councils to properly manage the new assets to ensure longevity.
“If you keep your machine in order by servicing it at the right time, you will get long life out of it. If you treat it wildly you will find breakage.
These village assets are provided to support the needs of the community. Tractors work on fuel, they need lubricants, caring and proper management.”
At Kamwatta, Minister Sukhai presented a cheque for a boat that costs in excess of $300,000, to lessen the burden of travel for residents.
Over at a Skyland, a bus was handed over to the village council to ensure children are able to travel to and from school in comfort, eliminating the miles-long walk.
One parent, Grace Henry is overjoyed that the government has delivered on its promise, to ensure children can access education.
Speaking with DPI, Henry teared up, explaining that the burden children had to traverse in the sun and rain to get to school, is no more.
“I’m very happy because I have four of them and they have to walk, very early they get up like we prepare them like 4: 30 [hours] and they wake up and by six o’clock finish eating already and before seven o’clock leave.
And they reach back very late, like five o’clock or after five every day from school. So, I’m very happy with that, it will help them a lot. They won’t have to walk and when rain fall they have to get umbrella or what, they just get the bus from the home to the school and from the school to home.”
Acting Permanent Secretary of the Amerindian Affairs Ministry, Ryan Toolsiram, also implored residents to properly manage the vehicle. He urged them to have a regular maintenance schedule, for the bus to remain in operation.