President David Granger on Thursday commissioned David ‘G’ 16 at Fyrish Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice – Corentyne).
The 26-seater bus will take students living in the Fyrish/Gibraltar community to and from schools at Rose Hall Town and Port Mourant.
David ‘G’16 commissioned at Fyrish Corentyne, Berbice
The bus is the fourth to be commissioned in the East Berbice/Corentyne Region 6 under the Bs (buses, bicycles, boats, books and boots) project.
According to the President, commissioning the buses is a part of his duty, since he wants to see all children in school.
The 3Bs project, which is now being touted as the 5Bs project, is not a political gimmick Granger said, but is one that makes economic sense. 180 children utilise the bus which operates on the East Bank of Berbice.
The Head of State maintains that the project does not discriminate. “The aim is not just to give you a bus. I am here to ensure that there is equality in this country. I believe that this country can never be truly equal unless children have equal access to education. That is the root of equality,” he said.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, the Head of State said the aim behind the project– which will see some communities countrywide receiving buses, bicycles or boats to assist children in getting to school — is to reduce the four hundred students who drop out of school every month.
He noted that once children are given the opportunity to be educated, they will be in a better position to seek employment, and therefore develop Guyana.
The President said the project targets persons at the grassroots level, so that they can be educated and be able to become self-employed.
Guyana, he said, is the gateway to the South American continent, and if persons are educated, they could find ways to employ themselves and provide services other countries want.
The bus, the second to be donated to the project by businessman Peter Lewis, who has also donated a boat and bicycles, will be maintained by the Region 6 Administration.
