Days after celebrating his 92nd birthday, Dr. Yesu Persaud has taken the spotlight again; this time he is being hailed for accomplishing the single greatest investment in medical education in the history of Guyana with the opening of a Clinical Education Centre named after him.
The Centre was constructed at a cost of $215 million in the compound of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). It is expected to put an end to several of the woes faced by Guyanese undergraduate and postgraduate medical students.
One of Dr. Persaud’s friend and a respected medical professional himself, Dr. Madan Rambaran recalled the process to accomplishing the dream which was sponsored and managed by the Yesu Persaud Foundation.
He said it wasn’t without delays but acknowledged that it was a proud moment to witness the opening of the Centre several years after a casual conversation in Dr Persaud’s Kingston, Georgetown office.
In January, 2015, Dr. Rambaran, then Director of the UG School of Medicine, approached Dr. Persaud for help in getting a facility to serve the needs of the medical education programmes. Dr. Persaud generously committed G$215 million for the construction of the building. Government of Guyana approvals were obtained and after architectural and engineering designs were finalised, construction was started and finalised.
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The building will now serve as accommodation for administrative faculty officers, classrooms, conference rooms and several categories of laboratories. Putting into context how the construction will change the lives of Guyanese undergraduate and postgraduate medical students was President of the Medical Student’s Association, Jamain Hatton. He recalled how for the past 20 years over 100 studying doctors were forced to compete on a daily basis for space in a building with two rooms above the morgue.
Dr. Persaud’s selfless contribution was also hailed by Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana Dr. Paloma Mohamed who noted that it was a good moment for many Guyanese who would be deserving of studying there.
But Dr. Persaud’s most fond moment of the morning was the feature address delivered by President Irfaan Ali and sharing the morning with the Head of state. Dr. Ali said Dr. Persaud’s character is of a man who continues to do extraordinary things but remains simple and humble. He said Dr. Persaud has proven to be a man that reaches the unreachable and commended him for that. The President said it was a major investment in research and development.
Responding to commendations on his role in ensuring the dream was realized, Dr. Persaud recalled that when he was asked to participate in the project, he had to think many times.
He recalled having to leave school at 8-years-old and now being a sought-after lecturer in the region and further afield he is satisfied that he has made the investment.
He said throughout his life’s journey, helping persons who can’t help themselves was always critical in his mind.
