Guyanese teacher committed
to educating rural children
By Tangerine Clarke
Students of Guyana’s highland
regions have a savior in
Headteacher Quado Vancooton,
a dedicated educator for more
than 18 years, who has made
it his life’s career to travel to
remote villages of Guyana to
educate underprivileged children
in indigenous villages.
Caribbean Life caught up
with Vancooton recently, deep in
the rainforest protected system
area named Iwokrama, where
he was welcoming students for
the day’s instruction, in the
Kubupukari Primary School
building, that also facilitates a
nursery and high school.
After teaching in the capital
city of Georgetown for many
years, Vancotten, one in just
a small batch of teachers, felt
it was important to travel to
remote villages to educate students
who may be left behind
because of their geographical
location, lack of teachers,
and challenging ways to get to
school.
The school has a total of
103 boys and girls, with just
three teachers, a difficult task
said Vancotten, who noted that
there was a shortage of educators,
a grave disservice to the
30-square-mile village.
Many students travel by foot
through dense forest. A student
was seen transporting his sibling
by bicycle, while a mother,
Caribbean L 22 ife, January 24-30, 2020
carried three of her children on
a motorbike. Other boys and
girls walked through thick vegetation
trails to get to school
for the 9 am start of the school
day.
Vancooten, who brings a
wealth of experience in teaching
to the institution, explained
that the Kurupukari Primary
located in Fairview Village, is
close to the Kurupukari River,
hence the name it kept, after
the school was built, and now
maintained by the Iwokrama
International Centre.
Iwokrama, an eco-friendly
habitat, was established in 1996
under a joint mandate from the
government of Guyana and the
Commonwealth Secretariat to
manage the Iwokrama forest,
a reserve of 371,000 hectares of
rainforest.
The head teacher is passionate
about imparting his knowledge
to the students, and is inspiring
students to follow in the
footsteps of one of his students
when he was a head teacher in
Mainstay Lake, Essequibo. That
Quado Vancooten, headteacher, left, and professionals
from Georgetown, and New York, (back row) with students
at Kurupukari Nursery, Primary, and High School in the Essequibo
Region, Guyana. Photo by Tangerine Clarke
student graduated and went on
to become a teacher in the village.
He said this was one of his
success stories.
“I enjoy going to work in
remote areas of Guyana to teach,
because there are so many
underprivileged children in the
hinterland areas, who need to
be educated. There are just a
few of us teachers who travel to
these regions,” said Vancooten
who praised the sister of Lucian
Williams, his former student,
for her commitment to educating
students of her village,
where she is a headteacher.
“I would like to inspire students
to become professional
teachers, and give back to their
villages. I am encouraging students
to seek higher learning,
so that they could stay in their
villages and impart that knowledge.
Teachers are always needed,”
said Vancooten.
The students though bashful,
paused for a moment and
looked on in awe as a group of
professionals from Georgetown
and New York, led by Ecologist
and Director of Iwokrama,
Dr. Raquel Thomas-Caesar,
engaged them in conversation.
Some smiled for “selfies,” and
later enjoyed a traditional indigenous
choreography, performed
by fellow students.
A mother transports three
of her children to Kurupukari
Nursery School deep in the
forest of the Essequibo Region.
Photo by Tangerine Clarke
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