Vibert Noble is proud to support a range of different causes, including Eiripan, a charity based in his home country, Guyana. This article will take a closer look at the work of Eiripan, a charity launched to ensure that Guyana’s children can access the educational opportunities they need to thrive.
Recognising the value of education and self-worth in helping children to grow up to be successful adults, Eiripan is committed to ensuring that every child has opportunities and hope, irrespective of their background. Eiripan works closely with local institutions such as health care facilities, schools and community-based NGOs. The charity’s volunteers come from a diverse array of backgrounds, ranging from office workers and university students to international volunteers. While some volunteers join Eiripan for a single project cycle, others stay with the charity for years.
Recognising that literacy is integral to personal development and that participation in the development process is essential to create more robust and improved communities, Eiripan is committed to the furtherance of these ideals. The charity currently sponsors five annual projects: Eiripan Book Drive, Makanaimas Angels, Classroom Enhancement Kits, Good Job Awards and a Sanitation Drive.
Outside of its own projects, Eiripan also supports Kanuku Mountains Community Representative Group, providing financing for its annual Rupununi Christmas Fair in Lethem, an event that brings communities together. Hosted on the second weekend of December, the Christmas Fair celebrates the achievements of crafters, farmers and agro-processors through a prize-giving ceremony. The most popular activity is inarguably a visit by Santa, which Eiripan supports by donating 200 gifts annually.
With a landmass the size of England yet a faction of the human and financial resources, Guyana faces a significant shortfall in education financing. In Rupununi, these fiduciary difficulties are further compounded by a landscape that is as challenging is it is beautiful, making it even more difficult for children and parents to access even the most basic scholastic tools.
Eiripan’s Book Drive delivers classroom-based libraries to be administered and cared for by teachers and other community members, helping teachers to access textbooks and other vital materials to enhance the classroom environment and make learning more enjoyable and accessible. Partnering with schools and businesses across Georgetown, Eiripan operates drop-off boxes where new and used books and other classroom supplies and aids can be donated.
Established in 2004 under Guyana’s Friendly Society Act legislation, which was created to address educational inequalities, Eiripan’s name is derived from a Macushi term meaning ‘to share’. Over the course of the last two decades, Eiripan has been promoting literacy, cultural preservation and personal participation in development in underserved communities, helping local young people of Wapishana and Macushi descent to increase their participation in community development, education and pride.