How COVID-19 has Reshaped Education in Guyana’s Hinterland

It’s Monday morning at the indigenous village of Aishalton, in Guyana’s Deep South Rupununi region.   39-year-old Immaculata Casimero proudly dons a shawl that identifies her Wapichan heritage. 

She’s in a rush, but makes sure to pull her mask across her face ahead of the  15 minute trek across the savannah to her daughter Kiarra’s primary school. COVID-19 has changed just about everything in her village, including her daughter’s education.  Pandemic lockdowns forced an end to normal classes. Students now work from home with parents filling the roles of teachers as best they can. Immaculata describes how, on selected days  of each week, she visits her daughter’s class teacher for guidance on four core subjects: English, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science.  “Parents have to work with their children at home and try to see how best they can educate their children,” she noted.  

She said the situation requires the parent to refresh their own knowledge of the subjects.  First, the teacher guides and instructs the parent through the entire lesson.


Venezuela: Life Is Chaos

The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro remains entrenched in Caracas despite more than 6 years of U.S. sanctions. Mr. Maduro sells off the nation’s vast oil and gold resources to reward loyalists, exploits the splintered opposition, and benefits from economic and diplomatic support from Russia, China, Iran, and other countries.

Meantime, Venezuela’s 30 million people are suffering through the worst economic crisis in a century. An estimated 5 million have fled the country. Those who remain face shortages of food, fuel, clean water and a viable healthcare system in the era of coronavirus. Incomes have been obliterated by mismanagement, corruption and hyperinflation.


Venezuela: Where Life is Chaos

The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro remains entrenched in Caracas despite more than 6 years of U.S. sanctions. Mr. Maduro sells off the nation’s vast oil and gold resources to reward loyalists, exploits the splintered opposition, and benefits from economic and diplomatic support from Russia, China, Iran, and other countries.

Meantime, Venezuela’s 30 million people are suffering through the worst economic crisis in a century. An estimated 5 million have fled the country. Those who remain face shortages of food, fuel, clean water and a viable healthcare system in the era of coronavirus. Incomes have been obliterated by mismanagement, corruption and hyperinflation.


CIJN Exclusive: Juan Guaido Interview

Venezuela’s Juan Guaido broke a two-year moratorium on interviews from Caracas with all media outlets. On August 13, 2020 Juan Guaido gave his first interview to CIJN from an undisclosed location in Caracas, Venezuela.

During the 40-minute interview, Mr. Guaido addressed the obstacles ahead for a transition to democracy, amidst the country’s economic collapse and a pandemic that has redefined the stage.

“It’s been two years now that I haven’t been allowed to go on television, not even radio, because they shut down the radio! Those spaces are important to communicate.” Guaido exclaimed.