Region 5 youths to improve skills with library, IT lab

As Guyana and the rest of the world observed International Youth Day on Friday, youths and children from Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) were graciously provided with a new environment to learn critical skills that will serve them well as they mature into adulthood.
A group of overseas-based Guyanese, including the USA Guyana Humanitarian Inc and the Ramrattan Family of the United States have opened a library and Information Technology (IT) laboratory at the Ramrattan Social Service Centre for Excellence at Woodley Park, in Region Five.
These facilities are now part of the Centre that was commissioned sometime back by the Ramrattan family to host the annual Academic and Skills Training Workshop for children and youths of the village.

In addition to opening the library and IT laboratory, the philanthropic group on Thursday hosted a graduation ceremony for the third batch of students who completed the annual workshop.
Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence, was present at the ceremony and commended the youths and children for participating. She noted that she was happy to see the large numbers, including parents, “because we can have villages filled with children, but if we do not have families, parents, guardians and concerned citizens who recognise the value of having an education, then ventures such as these would not be successful.”
Minister Lawrence also commended the Ramrattan family, their partners and supporters for the works they have done to ensure their facility remains open for the benefit of the youths and children.
“I don’t think we can measure the value of what the Ramratan family has done in this community,” she said.
The group hopes to further expand their services offered at the Centre by partnering with the Ministries of Agriculture, Education, Social Cohesion and Social Protection.
Lawrence noted that her Ministry could not pass up the opportunity to partner with the supporters of these initiatives. She outlined that her Ministry through the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) will begin a partnership to ensure that the Ramrattan Social Service Centre for Excellence is utilised throughout the year by hosting skills training in various fields for young people.
The Social Protection Minister told the children that having academic certification is essential but acquiring a skill is an invaluable experience, as it teaches discipline.
“You can pass on that skill to your family, even your children,” Lawrence said. At the moment, the facility is only opened when the Academic and Skills Training Workshop is held in August.
Treasurer of the Group, Angeli Maystry, a professional teacher in the United States, said that the workshop is usually conducted in collaboration with several local volunteers and the group is working on arrangements to have the library and computer facilities open to the children all year long with the support of those volunteers.
Pandit Prabudyal Ramrattan, on whose premise the Centre was erected, said he undertook the initiative in response to a need he saw locally during one of his visits home. A former teacher at the Rosignol Primary School left Guyana for England in 1966 and eventually settled in the United States.
President of the USA Guyana Humanitarian Inc, Mohan Singh, said he has been friends with Pandit Ramrattan for more than 25 years and did not hesitate to partner on this venture, having seen the need in many local communities. Singh explained that annually, they use the workshops to teach skills in Information Technology, photography, entrepreneurship, agriculture, leadership, and reading.
Participants are also coursed in topical and social issues, and life skills to empower themselves, their families and community. He explained that the group is also spreading their wings in other areas, including Jamaica and New York.