GCCI calls on authorities to help mitigate bullyism in schools

The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) is calling on relevant authorities to engage in measures to mitigate bullying in schools in Guyana.

However, to make the first move, GCCI donated to Shashamani Williams, the teen who was stabbed in her back in Linden, Region 10, earlier in the year.
The 14-year-old female teenager hails from Linden and attends the Linden Foundation Secondary School. On January 24, 2020, Williams was stabbed with a military calibre knife during a brawl with a schoolmate after leaving school.
This stabbing was linked to a scenario where she was the victim of sustained bullying in the school setting, which can be traced to the causative factor of a materially poor single-parent family background.
As Shashamani battled for her life for many weeks at the Linden Hospital Complex, she was given much-needed support by Empower Guyana Consultancy in collaboration with the Rights of the Child Commission.
Importantly, having recovered from her injury she is endeavouring to take her education seriously. With her medical state and COVID-19, she recognised the need for a computer workstation. On the advocacy of Empower Guyana, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry readily agreed to provide a computer station for the 14-year-old.
According to the Chamber, they were overjoyed with the gratefulness and joy exuded by Williams as she received the gift in the presence of Secretary of the Chamber, Shaleeza Shaw, CEO of the Rights of the Child Commission and Founder of Empower Guyana Consultancy, Amar Panday, her mom and two siblings.
“We are calling on the relevant authorities to work on stamping out bullyism in our schools”, GCCI reiterated.