Three soldiers, chosen by colleagues, receive scholarships
President Irfaan Ali presents the scholarship to the three soldiers.
Kaieteur News – President Irfaan Ali on Friday repaid his pledge to improve educational opportunities for the ranks of the Guyana Defense Force.
The Head of State presented scholarships to Corporal Ryan Jordan, Lieutenant Corporal Nikolai Moore and Private Michael Yarde, in accordance with a commitment made while visiting troops stationed at Kaikan in Region 7 (Cuyuni -Mazaruni ), last week.
During that visit, the President had said that three of the ranks located in the border community will benefit from University of Guyana scholarships.
“We were in Kaikan and I asked the soldiers among themselves to choose who they thought was a priority in winning scholarships … they chose these three officers and for this I thank them.”
Addressing the GDF ranks on Friday, during their annual Christmas Dinner at Base Camp Ayanganna, President Ali said that the scholarship presentation was the tip of the iceberg and that the troops will benefit from many other opportunities going forward.
He highlighted the significance of empowering them to choose their peers, which, he said, will contribute to empowering the unit to make collective decisions. He also emphasized that this approach will help foster an environment where ideas can be shared through constructive and strategic discussions.
“We have set aside a number of training opportunities … this time it is not top down, this time the units choose who they believe is not only most competent, but who they think it should take precedence. This is the way we move forward. ”