The new year has been celebrated, the Christmas holidays are nearly over and term starts again on the 7th of January. That means I need to make the long journey back down to Lethem and hitch a lift from there to Sand Creek. Before I do that though, myself and 7 other volunteers have travelled to Bartica, one of the more northern projects, home to PTVs Lauren and Carolyn.
Getting to Bartica isn’t too difficult from Georgetown: 5 minute taxi to Stabroek, 1 hour bus to Parika, 1-and-a-bit hour boat to Bartica, then a 5 minute taxi to cover the 3 miles to the school itself (which is oh-so imaginatively named “Three Mile Secondary School”).
Comparing it to my project in Sand Creek, the school in Bartica is incredible! (Scroll down for photos). Their teachers’ quarters are equipped with a fridge, a blender, a coffee machine, ceiling fans, separate bedrooms (one with an en suite), cooking facilities, sofas… so many things that we Region #9 folk can only dream of!*
The school itself is pretty big, with different rooms and blocks for different subjects, a computer room that actually contains computers, a science lab that actually contains lab equipment, a very well-equipped staff room, and even some rooms with air-con… air con!
We’re staying here for a couple of days, travelling back to GT on the 3rd or 4th, then straight away travelling back to Lethem (via Annai for the box).
I’ll keep on blogging about my year once the second term starts, but once I’m in Sand Creek it might be a while until I get online again to publish any of it. (That said, Sand Creek is supposed to be getting Internet access soon… frankly, I’ll believe that when I see it).
Photos of Bartica:
* Guyana is split into 10 geographical regions, all quite different from each other. 4 of the 11 projects this year are in Region #9 (Aishalton, Annai, Sand Creek and Shulinab), which is often regarded as one of the least developed regions. Progress is being made – which the volunteers are all involved in – but it is a slow progress.
