US-based NGO supports primary, nursery schools in Victoria, Guyana

Jan 22, 2023 News

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…awards teachers and students for outstanding performances

Kaieteur News – A United States based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), ‘Providing Unlimited Support and Hospitality (PUSH)’ last week donated a quantity of cleaning agents, books and other materials to two schools in Victoria, Village East Coast Demerara as part of its efforts to give back to the community where one of the Founders grew up.

The PUSH Foundation Inc. was founded in 2022. It is a non-profit venture supporting communities through supplies, clothes, toiletries, teaching assistance initiatives, and other crucial necessities for children attending school globally.

Speaking to the Kaieteur News, one of the Founders, Latoya Inverary-Staddon, said as a Caribbean-American with a primary school upbringing in Victoria, Guyana she is proud to be able to give back to her community. Both Founders, Latoya Inverary-Staddon and Doreen Pratt Ebai ventured to USA, where they currently enjoy contributing to local causes that are dear to their hearts.

Doreen Pratt Ebai, emigrated from Cameroon, and has positioned herself to give back to local groups and incentives for underserved communities. The Founders are equally committed to promoting and advocating for academic, psychological, and quality education.

They told the newspaper that their education-based

specializations and past experiences “have made them conclude that our homes deserve the same level of attention that we have provided for the local communities we have served in the USA.”

 

The Founders of the PUSH Foundation have defined goals to empower students in Guyana, Africa, the Caribbean, and the USA via supplemental aid.

“The confidence associated with having necessities in a shared social environment is a fulcrum that balances the weight of success or failure in our children lives. Our organization strives to bridge the gap of socio-economic disparity, giving each child the determination to be confident and bold, despite their many personal struggles in pursuing education.”

The Founders said they would be happy for the schools to get all the assistance needed. In addition to the two Founders, Latoya Inverary-Staddon and Doren Pratt Ebai, the other Foundation members are: Yvonne Ricketts, Treasurer, Organization Committee Sabrina Lutchman, and Odelis Mcsween.

Meanwhile, one of the schools that benefitted from the donation was the Victoria Nursery School. The Head Teacher, Gaynel Herod, could not contain her joy after the donation. “This donation has come at such an opportune time,” the Head Teacher related, noting that the school has struggled to get cleaning agents to keep their environment clean.

“I want to say a big thank you to the PUSH Foundation for this gesture. It will go really far in helping us,” Ms. Herod told PUSH Foundation
representative, Dr. Michelle James, who handed over a quantity of detergents and other cleaning agents as well as a teaching aid to the school.

The teaching staff also commended the organization for the kind gesture. Dr. James, in brief remarks, told the teaching staff that she could appreciate the difficult circumstances they work under, noting the lack of adequate ventilation at the schools and the need for a more children-friendly school compound.

“You need a bit of building up of the land…I can see the sogginess of the compound when it rains, and this has to be fixed,” Dr. James commented. She promised to give the full list of needs of the school to the PUSH Foundation with the hope that some other assistance could be provided.

Across at the Victor Primary, Head Mistress, Nanette Grandison also pointed out the lack of facilities at the school. With a large student population and a small building, Grandison is hoping that consideration be given for a new building to house the children.

“With this being the lone primary school in such a big village, this school is inadequate. The student population has outgrown this building,” she commented.

At the primary school, the PUSH Foundation donated a quantity of books for the school’s library and other stationery. Two Grade Five students, Krystal Gillis and Ariel Beckles, who scored 92% at the last end-of-term examination, were given a monetary reward by PUSH Foundation. The class Teachers of the two students: Maranda Pyle and Karen Gillis, also received a monetary award from the PUSH Foundation.

Ms. Pyle spoke optimistically about the prospects of the students despite the difficulties. “These children have great potential, and we as Teachers are giving them the best chances at success.” She said both students are very disciplined and committed to their work. “They are good prospects heading into the Grade Six class, but not only them but the other pupils are also being given the best chances at success,” Pyle said.

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• Doreen Pratt, Krystal Gillis and Ariel Beckles, Latoya Staddon, Nanette Grandison, Yvonne Rickets

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