EDYOU FM, the Ministry of Education’s radio station, is now the first radio station to serve the remote Indigenous community of Kaikan, Region Seven (Cuyuni- Mazaruni).
It is expected that learners in this community will have greater access to educational resources through the station, an EDYOU press release noted.
See below full release:
Exactly nineteen days after its announcement of radio signal in Kamarang, EDYOU FM, in a groundbreaking move, assumes broadcasting in the remote indigenous village of Kaikan, Region 7 on 99.9 FM. Kaikan is a bordering community along the Wenamu River – part of the Essequibo River Basin which forms a portion of the international boundary between Venezuela and Guyana.
EDYOU FM again makes headway as the first local radio station to transmit in Kaikan as it advances towards reaching all communities across the country as an avenue for distance education; this paves the way for students to access lessons in the four core subject areas, among others on the radio. Phillip Williams, head of the radio station, expressed, “I’m always excited about breaking new ground. I believe the Honorable Minister and the Ministry of Education are changing the lives of students, teachers and entire communities through radio, all for the good of education.”
The village of Kaikan is home to approximately two hundred-plus residents, primarily of the Akawaio and Arekuna nations. A village culturally conscious, the preservation of its indigenous languages and the transfer of traditional knowledge is of paramount importance to the people of Kaikan.
Recognizing that children learn better in their native tongue, the Literacy Unit of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) began translating the reading program used at the nursery level into four different indigenous languages. According to Samantha Williams, ACEO Literacy, “We translated them into Macushi, Patamona, Wapishan and Akawaio with plans of recording them to send off to schools. Based on a ten-year evaluation we had done, we found fluctuating results, especially at the grade six levels, so we decided if we instructed them in their mother tongue from the nursery level to grade four and teach them English as a second language, that will help to bridge the gap and improve their performances.”
Considering that, EDYOU FM intends to work collaboratively to have those translations recorded to be aired for the benefit of Guyana’s children, especially those in distant communities whose first language is not English.
Additionally, Kaikan, a bordering community, has attracted Spanish learners like many other hinterland communities. As a result, EDYOU FM offers in its programming “English as a second language,” Mondays to Fridays from 14:00 hrs; This provides foundational English for Spanish learners whose second language is English.
EDYOU FM’s Network Coordinator Faye Stewart commented, “Distance education hits home for me. I was born and raised in a hinterland community and access to such content on radio was not one available to me. However, to now be able to observe the process of creating educational resources & content and more so, witnessing the delivery of that via radio, is quite something. We want students across Guyana to utilize this platform and that is why the Ministry distributes radios to schools. I am beyond thrilled to be part of the team visiting communities and spreading awareness on EDYOU FM and its work.”
EDYOU FM continues to expand and improve radio transmission across Guyana to fulfil the Ministry’s mandate of educating the nations’s children wherever they are.
