Last Tuesday I visited 2 schools...one by boat and one by road. I went to see how they were spending their $1,00,000 Guyanese grant(about 2,500GBPS) to improve facilities in the school
Most of the time was taken travelling to and from the schools .Both are small primary schools whose headteachers are recently appointed and committed.
Itaballi is a small settlement on the banks of the Mazaruni and is a crossing point for miners on their way into the 'bush' It's a throw back to the wild west a 24/7 place with bars and girls and that has an impact on the school population..There is limited electricity at the school, poor water supply and the teacher houses nearby have a stove and a bed in them. Their grant was spent on a school fence and increasing the number of black water tanks on the site thereby improving the sanitation. the black rainwater tanks hold about 450 gallons each and are a feature of every building in Guyana. It's the school's only water supply and when that runs dry, it's off to the river to collect the water. Still the head has managed to save some money for extra precious books and these will be bought at the Guyanese Book Foundation in Georgetown who match any funding that schools have. The boat trip there was beautiful and relaxing
Then in the afternoon it was a 28 mile journey South of Bartica along the line road to Winneperu Primary School to see the improvements to the building that they are carrying out. The money is enabling basic improvements to be carried out -a new sanitation block, a school fence around the school, a bigger kitchen, refurbishing the old kitchen and turning it into a library and that is a few steps forward!! ( money from the World bank well spent! and well administered !). Still there is a significant reliance on the local community and PTA to contribute running and labour costs and those contributions vary from school to school.
This road is the main artery South into Region 8. Travel is slow along the road ...we did the journey in 1 hour 40 minutes which was good going , but it can take up to 3 hours. The school has no telephone connection and relies on the local woodmill to take calls. The road is in need of constant upkeep to remain open and here we have a picture of loam being laid on the surface to flatten it out.
One of the most extraordinary features of this journey is that there is unbroaken rainforest on either side of the road. Admittedly there are a couple of tracks off to a small Amerindian settlements but what we are seeing as we travel along is a glimpse into a landscape that has not altered in thousands of years. There is something magical about that ...it's a landscape that carries the memory of itself and does not easily give up its secrets. It broods on the side of the track ,waiting for you to venture in and discover its wildlife,its plantlife,its landscape. it's not flat, the forest is in rolling countryside and it's noisy with the constant sound of insects and birds ( especially parrots) . The rainforest area is vast and I just beginning to realise this...I've to travel up this road to 72 Miles School soon, but that is at leasta a 2 days trip and probably even longer.
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