Latest update January 3rd, 2025 4:30 AM
Latest News
- Mohameds drops lawsuit after Sgt. Bascom apologises over murder accusations
- More than 70 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza
- Berbice man drowns at Lake during New Year’s Day outing.
- Motorcycle bandits crash into Hilux to rob driver
- Jagdeo defends 4% interest on US EXIM Bank loan for Gas-to-Energy project
Man calls for investigation after son, 7, nearly drowned outside school
When Seshnarayan Dwarka received a call that his seven-year-old son had nearly drowned and was hospitalized, his heart momentarily stopped.
Seshnarayan Dwarka and his son, Justin
Since then, the boy has been recovering, but the father is still seeking answers as to how his son fell overboard, right in front of his school.
There are reports that there was no help from any of the school officials.
According to Dwarka, his son Justin is a second grade student of the Vreed-en-Hoop Primary School. The father explained that last Wednesday around lunchtime his son was waiting outside of the school to be picked up. The boy was standing on the bridge when a group of playing students approached. At first, the play was simple but it eventually became so boisterous that Justin was pushed overboard.
Though his fall was noticed, no one immediately came to his rescue. Instead, the older students dispersed, leaving the boy to fight for his life in the trench. He was noticed by a stranger, Stefon La Rose. At the time, La Rose was passing in a minibus when he noticed the boy struggling in the water.
La Rose explained that he quickly disembarked stripped off most of his clothing and jumped into the water to save the boy. Though Justin was still alive, La Rose said the boy was barely breathing.
“He was just struggling to breathe. Eventually I had to give him CPR and then he coughed up all the water he had swallowed. After that he came around more,” La Rose said. Nonetheless, Justin needed medical attention and was rushed to a nearby hospital by a public spirited citizen.
During the entire ordeal, no official from the boy’s school had been on hand, Dwarka said.
“Imagine all of this happening to my son and not a single teacher was there to help.”
Stefon La Rose
He explained that he eventually received a call from the school, nearly an hour after the entire incident, to inform him that his son was hospitalized. He said, too, that despite eyewitness reports which indicated that his son had been in the water for nearly 15 minutes, the school was attempting to downplay the incident by claiming it had only been a minute.
“The school is very, very slack and the teachers are trying to cover up this whole thing,” a frustrated Dwarka said.
He expressed disappointment with the school’s administration and called for improved security.
“The school would have PTA meetings and parents would complain about all the different problems. Every time we would be promised stuff but nothing ever happens,” he said.
He said that complaints had been raised about the condition of the school bridge, which he said was unsafe, particularly for the younger pupils.
He explained that the school provides security only in the evenings, while the young children are forced to cross the busy roads with no assistance. He said that it is particularly difficult for the children who just entered the school from the nursery level.
“I now have three children attending the school so I’ve been dealing with this school for years,” Dwarka said.
He added that he had raised his son’s recent near death experience on at least two occasions with the Headmaster, but was simply told that the matter would be dealt with.
Doubting that he would receive satisfaction from the school, Dwarka said he lodged a complaint with the West Coast Demerara Welfare Department of the Ministry of Education.
However, he also met with difficulties there and though promises had been made to investigate the matter, no probe has been conducted as yet, he said.
He is holding out hope that an investigation would be launched and a course of action would be decided upon by the Ministry.
“I can’t sleep properly at night and I can’t eat well because I’m just thinking about how my son could’ve died,” the father said. “They trying to hide the story but like they ain’t realize that it could’ve been funeral I having today.”
He emphasised that the issue needed to be highlighted, because it could happen again with worst consequences.
“I have to talk about this ’cause I don’t want this to happen to anyone else’s children,” Dwarka stressed.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
GUYSUCO’s problems are political not managerial
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- The sugar industry has been for centuries Guyana’s agricultural backbone. Yet, its struggles... more
Breaking the Chains of Poverty: A need for political will
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The year 2024 has underscored a grim reality: poverty continues to be an unyielding... more
Weekend Cartoon
