From Guyana Times – Monday, July 6th, 2009
New Jersey group opens
learning centre at Lusignan
Restoring Hope International, Inc ( RHI), an organisation founded by a group of U. S.- based Guyanese on Saturday unveiled a learning centre to service residents of the East Coast communities of Lusignan and Good Hope with the aim of alleviating poverty through education.
The project was set up by nine Guyanese based in New Jersey. Its aim is to give hope to Guyana’s children by helping to build a better tomorrow. RHI is a registered non- profit organisation established in 2008 to help fight poverty through education. Its goal is to break the cycle of despair, and bring hope and optimism to the impoverished families in the poor areas of Guyana.
Speaking at the opening of the centre, founder and director of the project, Sandra Shivdat, said the 2005 disastrous fl ood had help create awareness in the minds of Guyanese living in New York of the need to give back to their country.
Shivdat added that after a few visits to Guyana, she observed the rate of illiteracy among children and parents were on the rise in Lusignan and Good Hope and realised immediate action was needed to address the problem. She identified parents’ challenges as a result, mainly, of many being unable to read and write.
Additionally, she observed that parents could not afford to buy uniforms to send their children to school and to provide a proper meal on the table resulting in the children’s absence from school.
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New Jersey group opens learning…
However, the mission of the organisation is to bring literacy to the forefront of the community and to facilitate the development of knowledge. It will also place emphasis on the value of education by implementing innovative programmes to develop children’s cognitive abilities and teach children the skills to think independently, to be inquisitive and creative, and to help them develop as individuals who respect themselves and care about others.
So far 300 children have been registered to join the centre which caters for children fi ve years and older. Students attending the programme will access books, computers, extended activities, counselling programmes and workshops, after school help and remedial classes.
Also playing a major role in setting up the centre was Food for the Poor Guyana Inc. Director of the charitable organisation, Leon Davis said, “ Our business is about the poor, regardless of race, religion or politics”. He said his organisation has so far contributed to two centres of similar nature on the East Coast Demerara, Cane Grove and Montrose and is now injecting support to the Lusignan- Good Hope Centre.
Davis noted that Food for the Poor cannot do the work alone since there is a necessity to develop the minds of children to be leaders of tomorrow. RHI board member, Attorney at– law Anil Nandlall said education is one sure way of liberating people from poverty.
Patrina Lakhan, Guyana Times