Region Two Amerindian villages to benefit from ‘solar system per household’

– President Ali

Several Amerindian villages in Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region Two) will soon benefit from the Government’s ‘solar system per household’ programme.

His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali made this announcement during a meeting on Sunday with residents at the Suddie Early Development Childhood Centre.

The villages to benefit are Bethany, Mashabo, Capoey, Tapakuma, Mainstay, Wakapau, Kabakaburi, St. Monica Mission, Karawab and Akawini.

President Ali said the aim is ensure that students in Amerindian villages have access to education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have you on an immediate programme to benefit from the solar system per household. We have restructured the expenditure to ensure you are on the programme,” the President said.

 He pledged that by January the Government will be able to deliver the solar panels to the various communities.

The Government has made tremendous strides to date, to ensure learning takes places through the Guyana Learning Channel and via the internet, the President said.

However, he stressed that the gaps in Amerindian villages need to be filled since they do not have as much access to alternative solutions as persons living on the coast.

To this end, through another initiative, information and communications technology (ICT) hubs will be equipped solar systems to facilitate learning.  

“We have about 700 of those systems that will be placed all across our country to ensure our children have access to technology that would help them in education. These are the critical things in a modern society, these are the things that will make life differences, these are the things that would enhance the issue of equality of access, these are the things that are essential to improve livelihood and living conditions,” President Ali said.

These programmes will complement the other initiatives the Government has embarked on, through the Ministry of Education to ensure that children have access to learning during COVID-19.

Minister, Hon. Priya Manickchand has spearheaded several programmes to bridge the education gap during the pandemic, including providing ICT training for teachers to provide e-learning and distributing worksheets to students in far-flung areas.