Communications giant DIGICEL has unveiled plans to launch a summer art programme for kids and has offered a $500,000 donation to the programme.The programme will use a variety of activities designed to encourage children to use their imagination while still developing other skill sets. Called “The Young @Art” the programme focuses on the theatre and visual arts? as the media for introducing the children to the arts.? According to the Programme organisers, the children “will develop confidence in previously explored skills and techniques while using a variety of media.Emphasis will be placed on individual development and experimentation.Digicel’s Tamara Clarke (right) presents the cheque to Co-ordinator of the “Young @ Art” Programme Colette Jones-Chin in the presence of Public Relations Manager Shonnet Moore yesterday.Aimed at giving the children the ability to indulge in a new form of creative thinking,NFL Jerseys Outlet, the objectives of the programme are to help the children develop a range of creative and academic skills as well as to build their self-confidence and ability to express themselves. The intention being that participation in the programme will supplement a child’s ability to perform at school and other activities. And of course the programme organisers want all of the children to enjoy themselves, this being the primary objective in addition to learning.During the sessions dedicated to the Visual Arts,NFL Jerseys Cheap, the children will be able to partake in activities centered around ceramics,Sale NFL Jerseys, collages, wire bending and mask making, graphic arts which will include card making and cartooning and finally decorative craft. The Ceramic activity is called the Fly sky highclay workshop, the theme for the collage is ‘A collage of summer,wholesale jerseys, painted!’ and the wire bending and face masking has the children designing and making their own costumes.The Drama Sessions will include improvisational theatre where the children will be encouraged to think on their feet by being given a topic after which they will be engaged in dialogue based on the topics. During the Expression and Movement Sessions the students will be taught basic dance movements both choreographed and freestyle. There will be a puppet theatre where not only acting skills but those learned in the visual arts sessions will be employed. And since speaking is such an important part of drama, voice projection and elocution will be taught along with a teaching/performing forum called the Readers’ Theatre where the children are taught to develop reading fluency,? which goes towards improvements in comprehension.And of course the children will not learn all of these skills nor make all these works of art without an opportunity to showcase them. At the end of the programme, each child will receive a certificate of participation as well as see their works featured in a Tea Party, Children’s Theatre and Art Exhibition at the Umana Yana on July 30, 2011. The exhibition will be for adults as well as the children.All a parent needs to do is have their child registered at Raphael’s Daycare in Charlotte Street, which is where the workshops will be undertaken.The kids will be in classes from 9am to 2pm with a mid-morning and lunch break from Monday, July 11 to Friday, July 29.Co-ordinator of the “Young @ Art” Programme Collette Jones-Chin displays some of her work during the presentation ceremony yesterday. Heading the programme is Mrs. Collette Jones-Chin who has studied art at the Burrowes School of Art, the University of Guyana and the Mount Allison University in Sackville,cheap nfl jerseys, Canada. She has spent time working in St. Vincent, Anguilla, Grenada, Curacao and Suriname through the Organization of American States (OAS). Mrs. Jones-Chin has also worked as an art educator, a costume designer,Discount NFL Jerseys, a motivational speaker and an art therapist where she provided therapy through art to delinquent children as well as convicted felons and prisoners.

– massive malpractices being unearthed at state-owned entityAmidst revelations that a senior official of National Communications Network (NCN) was sent homeSent home: Martin GoolsarranFriday pending an investigation into discrepancies with the accounts, there are reports that all is not well with that state-owned company.There are growing concerns over the apparent mismanagement and how monies are being spent.The alleged wrongdoings have reportedly stretched to the New Amsterdam,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, Berbice operations.In one case,jerseys from china, a driver who was reportedly hired by the New Amsterdam operations and whose name was given as Zabarally Armogan, left in December yet his salary was still being sent monthly to that Berbice station. The cheque was being cashed and pocketed by a senior official there,NFL Jerseys China, it was claimed.Kaieteur News started the investigation after being told that the NCN headquarters, which prepares salaries, was deliberately not informed that the driver had stopped working.Investigations by this newspaper into this particular case have pointed to a cover up in progress.The Human Resources Department at NCN Georgetown confirmed that Armogan is still working at NCN New Amsterdam. He is on a month to month contract, an official said.Armogan confirmed that he stopped working as a driver in December. He had been hired for elections work by the operations there. He is now daily working his hire car in the New Amsterdam area.A female who would answer the phone at the Berbice location during working hours would consistently claim that Zabarally was “on the road”. Yet later that evening, staffers working the night shift would say that the NCN New Amsterdam location has no driver.One male operator (name given) was unsure who Zabarally was.The station is being managed by Faizal Jaffarally, a Parliamentarian of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic.There are other allegations of financial wrongdoings by NCN New Amsterdam. One particular incident in recent times that stood out has to do with the coverage of cricket games, including IPL and the West Indies tour of England.Advertisements being placed by major companies are supposed to be shown in Berbice as they were being paid for. However, a staffer at the New Amsterdam station has claimed that orders were given to remove these paid advertisements and for the slots to be sold to other advertising businesses in Berbice. The monies from this were pocketed.CEO, Mohamed SattaurBusinesses who placed their ads thinking they would be shown in New Amsterdam were being robbed of their monies’ worth.The microscope was placed on NCN after startling revelations were made in Parliament that the network,Cheap Hockey Jerseys, which controls the country’s only radios and a number of TV stations with coverage in all three regions, raked in more than $500M in revenues last year. Yet it was depending on subsidies from government. This year’s $80M subsidy was reduced to $1 by the two opposition parties in Parliament during the recent budget debates. Both parties cited a heavy bias by NCN towards government and called for reforms.Recently, the Board of Directors reportedly requested financial statements for several contracts with large advertisers, including the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T).In addition,China NBA Jerseys, there are claims to cases of conflict of interest with at least one relative of a senior NCN staffer working at an advertising agency and yet drawing commissions for ads placed with the network. There are also allegations of advertising monies being misappropriated and non-existent staffers on the payroll.On Friday, Production Manager, Martin Goolsarran, was sent on leave pending investigation.Also under probe is Chief Executive Officer,Jerseys NFL Cheap, Mohamed Sattaur.The investigations are being headed by Board Chairman, Prem Misir. Goolsarran’s job would be performed by Michael Gordon, who is now Programme Coordinator.Some of the payments claimed have no supporting documents.Another part of the investigation has to do with a female who is associated with a very senior official and who operates her own advertising department. The investigators say that this woman has been running her own operations by way of advertisement diverted away from NCN and then returned to allow for her to attract a commission.

A 40-year-old mother of two was yesterday remanded by Magistrate Hazel Octive Hamilton.The woman, Gaitri Singh,wholesale jerseys, of 46 Sheriff Street, is accused of having in her possession 421 grams of cannabis for the sole purpose of trafficking in narcotics. She pleaded not guilty and is being represented by attorney at law Ronald Burch-Smith.The lawyer, in a bail application,Cheap China Jerseys, said that his client is gainfully employed as a ‘clothes vendor’. He said that his client would normally send clothes,Cheap Jerseys China, confectioneries and other items to the interior to be sold.The lawyer explained that on the day in question his client handed over a package to a taxi driver,Cheap Jerseys Online, who had to deliver it to the Ogle Airport.Burch-Smith further noted that after the package left his client’s possession that was the last time she saw it. He said that the prosecution would now have to show that Singh had knowledge about the contents of the package.The lawyer stressed that his client was arrested one week after the package was intercepted,Cheap Jerseys For Sale, noting that anyone could have tampered with it. He also noted that after his client was arrested she was kept well over the stipulated holding time of 72 hours.In those circumstances the lawyer asked that bail be set at a reasonable sum.However,Cheap Jerseys Online, Police Prosecutor Shellon Daniels objected to bail. The prosecutor noted that Singh gave the taxi driver the sealed package.Daniels further stated that Singh also gave the taxi driver $6000 to deliver the package. She said that the package remained sealed until the defendant was summoned.Bail was refused and the accused is expected to make her next appearance on Friday at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court.

As the Government of Guyana seeks new ways to improve the education system, President David Granger has said that the provision of transportation for schoolchildren, particularly those in poor communities, will go a long way to improve access to education.In some areas, children are required to travel by boat to school.Therefore, the Head of State said,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, strident steps will be taken to do as much as possible to get as many children as possible into schools.President Granger made the statements during the Education Ministry’s Education Rally held on Friday at the National Park.During his address, Granger noted that across the country, particularly in rural communities and villages, many children do not attend school for one reason or another.He shared that a few months ago – as part of his birthday wish – a boat was made available to transport schoolchildren in the Pomeroon River area. He said that in such areas,Jerseys Wholesale, travelling expenses are hefty and too many parents are unable to afford to send their children to school.“Children in the Pomeroon River were not getting to school; they had to pay $5,000 to get to school at Charity. Some of them on the West Coast Berbice pay $5,000 to go to the Berbice High School. Every week, many parents who cannot afford the minibus fares simply do not send their children to school,” the President said.He added that while many children are enrolled in school,Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys, the government will play its role in ensuring that the children actually made it to school. Therefore, he said,Wholesale Jerseys China, the Guyana Government is looking towards providing school transport for children. This school transport, he added, would also extend to teachers.He said that the means of transportation will not be limited to boats but will also include buses and bicycles.Noting the boat transportation initiative launched in Charity, Granger shared that the business community has been responding favourably and has offered means of transportation.“The important thing is that children must go to school,” Granger emphasised.He said that as part of the drive to get children into schools the Government of Guyana is also looking towards the provision of meals.Granger noted that while children might indeed make it to school, many of them arrive there without even having a proper meal for breakfast or one waiting for them at lunchtime.Speaking to the hundreds of schoolchildren, Granger said, “All of you don’t need to get a breakfast at school because you had a healthy breakfast at home but those who cannot afford it should look forward to having a breakfast when they get to school.”Additionally, he said, another important factor to consider is the provision of uniforms and footwear.“I have gone into every region of this country. Many of you are lucky that you can march from Parade Ground to the National Park but I’ve been to some villages in the Hinterland,” Granger said.He continued, “Three o’clock, you’ll see the whole school coming out and not one child has shoes on; not because the road is muddy,Authentic NFL Jerseys Wholesale, not because they’re playing football; it’s because they’re too poor to have shoes.”Granger indicated that as part of the programme to keep every child in school, a large part of the focus should be on ensuring that children are supplied with the necessary items to foster their attendance.“This is a challenge which I give to the Ministry of Education, the Chief Education Officer and the Permanent Secretary.”“We want to make sure that as far as our resources would allow us that we get every child in school.”He added that while some of the current focuses, such as tackling truancy, were important, more attention must be placed on initially getting children into school.“I don’t care about rounding up children at 10 o’clock on a Tuesday morning; I care about getting children to school at 8 o’clock on a Monday morning,Jerseys NFL China,” he said.He continued, “Once they get in school, it’s up to the teachers to ensure that they learn their lessons.”He said that the plan is to restore education standards to ensure that every single child is enabled to complete his or her education. He stressed that education must take this direction if the system were to succeed.

In excess of $875M has been budgeted for this year to facilitate the construction of Technical and Vocational facilities in Regions Three and Five. Works in this regard were given a January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2011 duration,Cheap Jerseys, a process which is currently ongoing. Presently works are progressing in Mahaica where one of the facilities, which has been classified as critical,Wholesale China Jerseys, is progressing.According to the publicised specification, this project is estimated to cost just over $424M and is being funded by the Government of Guyana with the support of a loan (18/SFR-GUY) from the Caribbean Development Bank for the enhancement of Technical and Vocational Education and Training Programme,Cheap Jerseys Wholesale, with the Ministry of Education as the Executing Agency. The Project Consultant is Civil/Structural Engineers and Project Managers and R. Bassoo and Sons Construction Company is the contractor.The description of the National Tech/Voc Project,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, as stated in the Central Government Development Programme Capital Project Profiles, indicates that it includes provision for construction and supervision of technical vocational centres at Leonora in Region Three and at Mahaica in Region Five.It also includes a component for training and purchase of tools and equipment for schools, technical institutes and practical instruction centres, with benefits ranging from the improved facilities to enhanced technical and vocational training. The total project cost amounts to in excess of $1.9B, with a sum just over $424M being expended before the commencement of this year.Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh in his presentation of the national budget last week Monday revealed that $1.6B has been budgeted for technical vocational education towards the completion of construction works at the two vocational centres. This sum is also expected to fund the construction of a student dormitory at the Essequibo Technical Institute and the provision of tools, equipment, materials and furniture for institutes countrywide, allowing increasing numbers of students an alternative pathway.Technical and Vocational Education has been placed high on the agenda of the Ministry of Education, a notion that has been repeatedly amplified by Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh. It was for this very reason that the Ministry had sought to introduce intensified efforts a few years ago to introduce a skills for life programme with a view of preparing youths for employment.According to Minister Baksh, the programme which is deemed as vital, will be complementary to the Behavioural Communication Certificate Programme (BCCP) which was initiated at some schools with much success.The Minister had pointed out that the BCCP which came on stream some years ago compares with a Caribbean programme called the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competency (CCSLC). However,NFL Jerseys China, he noted that although Guyana may have pioneered the technical and vocational programme, there are some challenges that the Ministry faces with its continuance.It was in 2009, he revealed,NFL Jerseys Outlet, that the sector did not have a sufficient quota of qualified teaching staff in either the technical or vocational aspects, adding that “we are moving towards training more and more people.”He pointed out that while there is a technical teachers training programme at the Government Technical Institute, only about 12 teachers graduate annually. For this reason, it was noted, the Ministry is prepared to open new centres with a view of doubling or even tripling the amount of teachers that are trained in the system.“A task team was set up and they have already reported. They have had discussions with the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and the technical institutions and we are hoping within a matter of a few months we will have a large intake of persons to take the technical teachers trained certificates.”The Ministry of Education has since put in place a Technical and Vocational Council headed by a former Dean of the Faculty of Technology of the University of Guyana and a former Deputy Chief Education Officer, Technical Education. The Minister disclosed that the body has a solid make-up of persons to address the question of the Caribbean vocational qualifications which standardises technical education across the region.

More than a week after a local distribution company said that it was being harassed by the Government Analyst –Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD), the entity is insisting that all food imports must be accompanied by the relevant documentation.According to the department’s Director, Marlan Cole, in a statement, the documents must include and not limited to a Free Sale Certificates or a Health Certificate and/or a Certificate of Analysis.Director of Food and Drugs, Marlan Cole“The Free Sales or Health Certificates must be issued by the regulatory authority or agency from the Country of Origin. The Certificate of Analysis can be issued by an independent laboratory or that of the manufacturer,China Jerseys,” Cole said.He pointed out that the country’s laws are explicit when it comes to food importation.“Except as provided by the regulations, no article of food, drug, cosmetics or devices shall be imported into Guyana unless the article wholly confirms to the laws of the country in which it was manufactured or produced and is accompanied by a certificate in prescribe form and manner that the article does not contravene any know requirements of the laws of that country and that its sale therein would not constitute a contraventions of the law thereof.”Original copies of Free Sale Certificate or Health Certificate would attest to the fact that the items of food being imported are produced and manufactured under safe regulatory and sanitary conditions where regular inspections are conducted on the premises or the factory.“The certificate guided the department in relation to the product’s specification and manufacturing compliance. These documents will support the GA-FDD when executing our mandate, which is to protect consumers by ensuring only safe and wholesome foods are released for sale on our local market,” Cole insisted.He said that the GA-FDD recently conducted stakeholders’ consultation with members of the general public and the business community in association with Environmental Health Officers from the various regions to highlight the regulatory functions and services of the department in the interest of trade and consumer protection.Consultation held to date were on February 26, 2015 at the National Library; March 25, 2015 at the Berbice Regional Health Authority Boardroom, Fort Canje; April 15,Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys, 2015 at the RDC Boardroom, Anna Regina, Essequibo; July 30, 2015 at the Bartica Hospital Boardroom, and on August 18, 2015 at the Mayor and Town Council Boardroom, Linden.Cole said that the department will shortly be taking its exercise to Regions Three, Five and Nine in an effort to ensure that foods, drugs,Cheap NFL jerseys China, cosmetics and medical devices traded and produced locally meet national and international standards.Over a week ago, local manufacturing and distribution company, Sueria Manufacturing Inc., said that it had been forced to downsize its operations,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, sending home at least 10 of its staff members from its Distribution Department in the process.Frank Sanichara, the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said the move is as a result of the entity facing months of discrimination and harassment by the Food and Drugs Department.Sanichara believed that his products that he imports from the United States and Canada were being unfairly targeted resulting in his company incurring losses to the tune of millions of dollars.The regulatory body, Sanichara said, constantly changes either its requirements for importation or finds other unconventional ways of placing a hold on his stocks.The businessman, who said he returned to invest with his wife, Teshawna Lall, holds the exclusive rights to import several international brands including Guzzler Juice,Authentic Jerseys Cheap, Juicy-Juice and Tropical Delight.Because of changing requirements and mistakes by the department, the company had to dump its products and faces delays at the wharves with its containers.With regards to the laws, Sanichara pointed out that nothing is there says quantity.“A Free Sale Certificate basically is a letter saying that the product is good for human consumption. It confirms to the laws of the country in which it was manufactured, signed and notarized by the relevant authorities. That’s all there is to it. The certificates I provided to the Food and Drugs Department in Guyana clearly says that.”Sanichara also questioned how it is that large quantity of Guzzler juices are being imported into the country when he is the sole authorized distributor.“How are these items managing to pass the Food and Drugs Department when I am the only one with a Free Sale Certificate and a Certificate of Analysis from American Beverage w

A family in the mining town of Linden is accusing police ranks there of physically assaulting them and then covering up their actions by instituting charges against some family members.The McAlmont family is accusing police ranks, including the Commander of the ‘E’ Division, Senior Superintendent Calvin Brutus, of using unnecessary physical violence two weeks ago to carry out a simple arrest.Maxford Mc Almont is alleging that the Commander physically assaulted his wife, Deborah, who is a serving member of the Guyana Police Force at their One Mile,Cheap NFL Jerseys, Wismar home on Tuesday, November 17.But although the matter is being investigated by the police Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) McAlmont is not too confident that justice will be served, given who is involved.On the day in question, Mc Almont was not at home but his son, Dexter, was operating in his vulcanizing shop which is located at One Mile, Wismar when three men barged in and began assaulting him.A few persons in the shop, convinced that it was a bandit attack, quickly exited. One of them informed the man’s mother who lived a short distance away.McAlmont said that when his wife arrived at the shop, she saw the men assaulting her son and like any other mother, she intervened.She managed to free her son by pushing away one of the men. Another man went to a tinted car that was parked nearby and grabbed a baton and returned to the shop to attack McAlmont’s son, who managed to arm himself with a cutlass and chased one of the men away.McAlmont said that after the men left, his wife took his son home. It turned out that the men were actually policemen in plainclothes.At the time no one was made aware that McAlmont’s son was wanted by the police. A few minutes later, though, two jeeps load of police ranks, including the Commander swooped down and surrounded McAlmont’s house.Mc Almont was now aware that the men who had attacked his son and wife earlier were policemen since they had returned with the party of heavily armed ranks.A female rank immediately confronted his wife, who has been attached to the Special Constabulary for the past 25 years, and told her that she was wanted at the station. No mention was made of her son,Cheap Jerseys From China, who had disappeared by then. There were comments from heavily armed ranks that they will kill him.Mc Almont said that at first his wife showed some reluctance to go to the station, claiming that she needed a change of clothes.As she was walking away towards the clothes, she felt a cuff to the back of her neck and when she looked around, she saw the senior officer standing there.The woman said that at the time she was thinking of retaliating but good sense prevailed.By this time, Mc Almont and another son arrived home, saw what was taking place and enquired from the police why they were treating his wife like that.“(My wife) told me to keep out, she can handle it,” Mc Almont told this newspaper.He said his son also questioned the police’s actions and was dealt a cuff to his face and he too was subsequently bundled into a police vehicle.By now, Mc Almont’s juvenile son came up and was grabbed by a police rank and arrested too.He said that his wife and two sons were taken into custody and placed at three different stations in Linden.His wife, although a serving police rank,Jerseys Cheap NFL, was placed into the lock-ups at Wismar.After several hours,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, Mc Almont’s wife was released without bail and without being told of any charges against her. This was after her husband had turned up with their remaining son with whom the police had the initial altercation.Three days later on,Cheap NFL jerseys China, Friday November 20,Wholesale Jerseys, all three of Mc Almont’s sons were placed before a court in Georgetown although the police had promised to release two of them.Their charges were ‘Assaulting Peace Officer’ and ‘Resisting Arrest’ for which they were placed on $150,000 bail each.“The Commander showed no example by leadership. If he could assault a woman in front of his ranks during what should have been a routine arrest, what do you think they will do?” Mc Almont said.The family expressed no confidence in the police investigating their own, especially a senior officer.This newspaper made repeated efforts to contact Commander Brutus throughout the week but was unsuccessful as calls to even his cellular phone went unanswered.“When he (Mc Almont) went to see (Commander) Hicken after turning in his son, Hicken told him that he was he was making a very serious allegation about a senior officer and like Hicken was getting vex so Mc Almont