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Waramadong Secondary to be renamed after Dr. Desrey Fox
The late Dr. Desrey Fox
In honour of one of Guyana’s foremost academics on Indigenous Culture, President David Granger announced Tuesday that the Waramadong Secondary School will be renamed the Desrey Fox Secondary School.
The revelation was made at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre during the President’s feature address at the National Toshaos’ Council.
During his presentation, the President emphasised the fundamental role education plays in the development of the country’s Indigenous communities.
To this end, he unveiled his administration’s Hinterland Education Support Programme to the Conference, but also took the opportunity to honour “a great innovator of Guyana’s education system, who also hails from an Indigenous community”.
“I wish to reiterate that education is important to everything that we do, and this (yesterday) morning, I wish to pay particular tribute to those who have been produced in our indigenous communities, but particularly I want to recognise one who has left an indelible mark on education, an indelible mark on the indigenous people in this country,” President Granger said.
He gave special recognition to the late Minister Dr Desrey Fox and proceeded to further honour her accomplishments by naming the Waramadong Secondary School after her. She was particularly recognised for her working in mainstreaming Akawaio culture in the education system.
Dr Fox served as Minister within the Ministry of Education, under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration, until she tragically lost her life in a fatal car accident in December 2009. The 54 year-old was part of a team that was in the process of translating the national Anthem into the nine Indigenous languages.
The late Minister, a native of Waramadong, Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region 7), attended the community’s school and later became a Curator of the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology.
Her achievements in academia have left a lasting impact on the University of Guyana, as she contributed to the institution’s Amerindian Language Project. Said project paved the way for the University’s Amerindian Research Unit and subsequently the Introduction to Amerindian Studies course, which she played an integral role in formulating.
Dr. Fox initially joined the University in 1977 as a junior researcher and moved on to pursue her Masters of Arts degree in Environmental Anthropology from the University of Kent at Canterbury. She then received her PhD in Linguistics from Rice University in Houston, Texas in 2003.
Meanwhile, when contacted by media personnel following the announcement the son of the Late Minister, Mensah Fox said that the move was a “big step taken by the government”, which was appreciated by the Fox Family.
Fox was quoted as saying that “We are extremely proud of her (Dr. Desrey Fox’s) achievements and it brings us great happiness. I know there is a lot that she has done and a lot that she had in store to do, but this recognition is one that we appreciate.”
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