Georgetown, GINA, February 25, 2004

The Bare foot Lady was launched today at the National Centre for Educational Research and Development (NCERD).
This new book will be used particularly in Primary and Secondary schools countrywide for reading and literature.
The book was endorsed by the Ministry of Education. Speaking at the occasion Permanent Secretary within the Ministry of Education, Ganga Persaud, said the Ministry is grateful for the help at the Primary and Secondary levels to motivate students to understand the benefits of reading.
The Bare Foot Lady, a collection of short stories and poems was edited and compiled by Roopnandan Singh.
Contributions were made by Robert Fernandes, Sharon Natasha Lall, Paloma Mohamed, Roopnandan Singh, Patrick Noel Cheeks, Sheik Sadeek and Andre Williams, among others.
Other contributions were made by students of the School of the Nations, Mae’s School and Mashabo Primary School.
The book, was named after a poem by Aliya Bulkan of the School of the Nations, winner in the under-18 Poetry competition in the Association of Guyanese Writers and Artists (AGWA) prize for Literature 2003.
All pieces were selected from the winning entries of the 2003 AGWA prize for Literature 2003.
The entire project took approximately six months, to stage the competition, and compile and print the literature.
Two hundred copies were handed over to the Ministry of which 100 were donated by the Guyana Lottery Company. The others were donated by Mr. Robert Fernandes.
Mr Persaud said the Ministry will take a second look at readers at the primary and secondary levels.
The new book will be distributed in all schools and libraries countrywide.