Latest update March 24th, 2025 7:05 AM
US troops to construct clinic, school in Guyana
Part of the US Troop. From right, Lieutenant John Buse, Patrick Keenan and Marvin Todd.
New Horizons Guyana, a United States Southern Command–sponsored annual exercise, has commenced construction of a clinic at La Penitence at a cost of some $350,000, while a school house will be also be constructed in Bel Air, Georgetown to the tune of $230,000.
These projects are scheduled to be completed on September 09 and 10, respectively.
Although the construction will be carried out by local contractors, Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Kennan told the media at a press conference on Wednesday last, at Ramphal House, New Garden Street, that the main construction team comprises army personnel who arrived in Guyana on Tuesday.
The team will be in Guyana for the next three months, during which a number of health programmes are expected to come on stream.
The health centre will be a 30 ft by 90 ft and will have four examination rooms, an office, waiting room and a bathroom along with a small pharmacy.
The clinic is also expected to have a robust maternal and child health care program. Medical equipment and furnishing for the clinic are in the process of being procured.
It was noted that this clinic will be adequately staffed, since the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Service will soon graduate some 69 Guyanese doctors.
These doctors would offer services to some of the health centres in the country and would be attached in a rotation fashion.
As it relates to the school house, it will be a 30 ft by 60 ft building, which will include a main classroom, kitchen, bathrooms and play ground equipment. These will be purchased at a cost of some $37,385.
Also, the troops will be renovating another school at Timehri, which is scheduled to be completed by August 1, 2009.
Meanwhile, during the three months that the US troops will be here, there will be eight medical teams dispatched to various locations around the country for two weeks in the middle of July.
These teams will work with doctors, nurses and dentists not only in Georgetown but in some hinterland areas as well.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Marvin Todd, two surgical teams will be working at the Georgetown Public Hospital, dealing with ophthalmology issues.
There will also be the ENT surgical team, which will be dealing with conditions of the ears, nose and throat.
Lieutenant Todd added that during the course of July, there will also be a trio of medical teams; working out of the Diamond Secondary School, who will be in charge of conducting restorations and extractions.
A medical team dealing with general medicine will also be at the Skeldon Hospital inspecting and treating hundreds of people, while in August, another medical team will be at the Timehri Primary School and in Linden.
(Fareeza Haniff).
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