Yupukari students leap from 0% to 50% pass rate in NGSA; improved reading skills 

For nearly two decades, villagers of Yupukari, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), have watched a quiet revolution unfold, one built not on technology or large infrastructure, but on books, community effort, and a belief that children deserve every chance to succeed.
When the library was founded by a US-based social worker, Alice Layton, in 2001 to improve literacy in Yupukari, just a small percentage of students from the village could read.

During a visit to the community, Layton was struck by a comment from one of the teachers: the children were showing low levels of creativity. The observation troubled her, prompting her to consider how she could use her own skills and resources to support learning in the area. After further discussions with several teachers, she realised that the solution rested in providing access to books and information. This idea became the foundation for the Rupununi Learners Foundation (RLF), established that same year with a mission to enhance the quality of life for Rupununi residents. Layton believed that this could be achieved through access to materials and activities that promote literacy, numeracy, information sharing, and the preservation and transmission of Indigenous knowledge.
In 2007, the organisation’s local branch, Rupununi Learners Incorporated (RLI), was formally registered. Comprising villagers from across the Rupununi, RLI focuses on building and maintaining community learning centres in the region, while the RLF remains headquartered in the United States. The organisation has since expanded its focus to introduce its programmes to additional villages. Although language remains a challenge, the team advocates for a curriculum that introduces Makushi as a written language either before or alongside English in the early grades, and they express full support for such an initiative.
From the outset, Yupukari villagers have been deeply involved in ensuring access to books for their community. They helped construct the village’s public library, the Caiman House Field Station, and assisted with school building renovations through mayu – community service labour. Yupukari now boasts four libraries: three classroom libraries within the nursery and primary schools and one public library. These facilities are managed by three full-time librarian trainees and are equipped with six Internet-enabled laptops and a collection of books suited for readers of all ages.
Today, the community celebrates a 50 per cent pass rate on the National Grade Six Assessment in 2025, a dramatic rise that residents credit to the Yupukari Public Library, its outreach programmes, and the partnerships formed along the way.

“Villagers credit the library and its outreach activities with the consistent rise in the pass rate,” one library representative noted. “We went from near zero when we started in 2005 to 50 per cent this year.”
The Yupukari Public Library has grown into one of the most impactful institutions in the North Rupununi. Staffed by a full-time librarian and several volunteers, the library now houses more than 5000 hand-picked English-language books, laptops, internet access, educational toys, maps, art supplies, puzzles, and resources designed to strengthen foundational skills.
Its influence expanded significantly during the pandemic. Through the EMG Memorial Fund, the library distributed 266 home schooling kits, one for every child in the Yupukari schools, and kept learning alive through pickup and delivery of worksheets, art materials, and reading books at its outdoor reading room and park. The period also saw the birth of its first branch library in Fly Hill Village.
But the transformation began long before, sparked by a realisation that the home-school connection in 2005 was weak. “Teachers were not collaborating. Reading wasn’t regarded as fun,” the library team recalled. Even after the library was built, community engagement with reading remained uneven.
That changed with Reading Rodeo, an all-day literacy celebration launched on December 6, 2006. Every teacher and both librarians hosted activities in different buildings across the village. Families received “passports” to stamp at each location, a hands-on, community-wide introduction to reading as joy, not obligation.
Reading Rodeo is now held annually and is one of the village’s most beloved events.
While the focus has long been on English literacy, the language of national exams, Yupukari faces a unique challenge: most children grow up speaking Macushi, the Indigenous language of the region. Macushi has only been a written language for about a generation.
Into this rich ecosystem stepped Lindsay, a Peace Corps volunteer assigned to Yupukari three weeks ago. In an interview with Guyana Times, she said her focus is on strengthening literacy from Grades 1 to 6 under the Ministry of Education’s Read to Achieve initiative.
The initiative (officially part of the National Literacy Programmes) is a comprehensive, nationwide drive launched to ensure every child can read by the end of Grade Four and to improve literacy levels across all age groups.
“So, what we do is diagnostic testing with the kids, and we assess kind of different components of literacy, and the kids that are struggling the most or most below their grade level are the kids that we choose for intervention. So, we do small group intervention with about five kids at a time that are all at a similar literacy level, and we try to use more interactive or different styles of learning for kids that maybe don›t do very well with kind of sitting in one place and reading. So, a lot of games. We do a lot of letter bingo, picture cards, things like that,” she said.
She was quick to acknowledge the foundation laid long before she arrived. “The kids are very enthusiastic about learning, and that comes from the great teachers and mentors already here. The community has been incredibly welcoming.”
Peace Corps has served in Guyana since the 1960s, with volunteers supporting community-driven projects in education, health, and the environment. Volunteers also learn to speak Creole as part of their service, deepening their integration into village life.
For Lindsay, integration has been natural and immediate. She participates with the Wildlife Club – joining 05:30h brooding activities, Saturday sessions, and village clean-ups. She spends evenings “gaffing” with her landlord, who has already become a close friend.
“It feels like a sense of family and home already, which I didn’t expect so fast,” she said. “I’m very grateful.”
Lindsay’s goals for the next two years align with the community’s long-term literacy vision: improved Grade Six exam scores, an after-school reading programme, and new interactive learning materials such as outdoor letter hopscotch and educational games.
“I’d love to help build more confidence in the children, help them be better friends, better community members,” she said. “They already have so many great ideas. It’s about giving them a space to talk, dream, and plan.”
The library continues to call for donated materials, especially beginner reader books with simple sentences and three- or four-letter words, which are critical for early literacy in a second language.
As Yupukari moves toward its goal of stronger bilingual literacy and even higher exam pass rates, the story remains a testament to what communities can achieve when they rally behind their children.
From 0 per cent passes to 50 per cent, from a handful of books to a thriving library system, and from fragmented teaching to village-wide literacy celebrations, Yupukari is proving that when reading becomes a culture, success follows naturally.