GEPAN makes annual donation to hinterland communities

Every year, GEPAN provides stationery and school supplies to children as part of the organisation’s commitment to enhancing access to education. These items are given to children whose families are financially challenged and who subsequently find it difficult to attend school owing to limited resources.
This year, school bags containing two rulers, two pencils, two sharpeners, two erasers, five notebooks, 12 crayons for kiddies/five pencils and four pens for older children were distributed to 200 children in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and 160 in Region One (Barima-Waini). Another 24 back-packs with stationery were donated to children in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) while a

number of children from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) are scheduled to benefit by the end of December 2018.
The decision to focus the majority of the organisation’s activities in the hinterland this year was not an easy one, as distribution was rendered difficult owing to logistics, the remoteness of communities and poor infrastructure which delayed access to remote areas, especially in Region Nine. However, given the hardships faced by Indigenous children in the hinterland with regard to attending school, GEPAN was determined to assist families in alleviating school expenses.
Indigenous children are among those who face tremendous challenges associated with harsh geographic, climatic and infrastructural setbacks. Shortages of trained teachers, as well as financial difficulties owing to unemployment or struggling village economies, increase the burden of families who struggle to send their children to school.
Some families are unable to purchase uniforms and shoes, and sometimes, cannot afford more than a meal a day for their children. It is, therefore, not uncommon to see schoolchildren attending school bare footed with worn-out uniforms in the deep hinterland.