A new literacy initiative is underway in the North Rupununi village of Yupukari, where a recently deployed Peace Corps volunteer is supporting the Ministry of Education’s push to ensure students achieve reading fluency by Grade Four.
Lindsay, a Peace Corps literacy promoter who arrived three weeks ago, will spend the next two years in the village as part of the long-standing collaboration between Peace Corps Guyana and the ministry’s Read to Achieve programme, which targets Grade One to Six students reading below national standards.
The ministry’s strategy emphasises early detection of reading gaps, small-group interventions and structured phonics-based instruction—methods officials say have shown strong results in hinterland and remote areas. Yupukari, like other rural communities, has struggled to meet the Grade Four literacy target set under the MoE’s goal of “Every Child Literate, Every Child Learning.”
Lindsay began her assignment with diagnostic assessments to determine students’ reading levels. Children needing the most support are placed in small groups of about five, where lessons use interactive techniques including picture-based vocabulary, letter-sound games, movement activities and literacy-focused play. The aim, she said, is to make foundational skills accessible and engaging.
Her work also includes community outreach. She is collaborating with teachers, parents and a librarian to strengthen literacy support through an after-school reading club, weekend story sessions and outdoor literacy games.
While Lindsay describes the community as welcoming and students as motivated, she notes persistent gaps. Yupukari’s new secondary school lacks specialised teachers in key subjects, increasing pressure on primary educators with heavy workloads. She also reports shortages of early-reader books, chalk, cement paint and other hands-on learning resources.
Despite challenges, Lindsay says the experience has been enriching. She has joined Wildlife Club birding walks, community clean-ups and cultural activities as she settles into village life.
Over the next two years, her focus will be on strengthening early literacy, supporting teachers and helping students achieve full reading proficiency by Grade Four—an objective central to improving long-term educational outcomes.
The Yupukari Village Library is accepting donations of beginner-level reading books and early-learning materials to support the programme.
