Aspiring forensic scientist pays tribute to literacy programme

April 8, 2013, By KNews, Filed Under News, Source

At 20 years old, Wenceslaus Washington is an aspiring forensic scientist and a final year student at the University of Guyana, pursuing a degree in Biology.

Aspiring forensic scientist Wenceslaus Washington

Although Washington is focused and dedicated to realizing his goal of becoming a forensic scientist, he says that he may not have made it, had it not been for the fundamental teaching he obtained from the literacy programme, provided by the Rotary Club of Georgetown.

For Washington, growing up in a developing community such as Section C South Turkeyen (Sophia) was “no walk in the park,” but he explained how having “strangers come into the neighbourhood and volunteer their time, energies and resources,” benefited him and other underprivileged youngsters.

“I was among the first batch of students who joined the Rotary club’s literacy programme back in 1997, the programme did not merely give us an opportunity to learn to read, spell and be better at grammar or vocabulary, it gave us a prospect of those living outside our community to mentor us, being a positive influence and guideline to us nurturing us at the base of our lives in many ways.”

Washington reminisced on other aspects of the project, which he says helped him to become a rounded individual.

“I can remember that my first visit to the National Museum was made possible through organizers and my teachers of the literacy programme because we would go on tours at certain intervals of the course, I can also recall that one year we had entered the children’s Mashramani costume competition where we placed third under a specified group, there are so many other heartwarming memories that I can point to in which we were exposed to via this programme.”

Washington said that after he graduated from the programme, he went on to write the Secondary School Entrance Examinations where he earned a spot at the Brickdam Secondary School. There he wrote Caribbean Secondary Education Certification (CSEC) and gained 12 passes, including a double award in Agricultural Science.

The hopeful forensic expert is currently seeking an international scholarship in the field. Upon successful completion of the four year University programme, the striving youngster will acquire his Bachelors of Science (BSC.) degree in biology.

Washington hopes that the scholarship will aid in him in becoming one of Guyana’s first forensic scientist, which he says is a childhood dream.

His fascination for forensic science began as a child through television shows such as CSI Miami and NCIS. “Growing up I would watch these shows, and seeing how these investigators work to solve cases never ceased to amaze and captivate me.’

Students of the programme surrounded by teachers and members of the Rotary Club.

Now that he‘s older, Washington says that it’s the reality of his county’s own plight that burdens him. “My current concern is the growing number of unsolved cases of murders that go on to become cold case files”.

Washington pointed to the “Sheema Mangar case which has been dragging on for years now and the Lindo Creek massacre, where our country lost tremendous revenue sending samples of evidence overseas for testing”.

“The relatives in these cases were not able find closure while precious revenue and time were lost sending samples overseas as the cases went unsolved.”

Washington’s mother, Marva Moses, is proud of her children’s achievement as she says that it was not easy for her as a single mother to provide for five children.

“I work as security officer and I would not have enough time to sit behind my children to do school work with them so often, so the programme has been really helpful to me because all my children have attended and have their success stories …..I am grateful for the programme what they have done and continue to do.”

Moses says that the Georgetown Rotary Club also has a number of other outreach programmes which benefit the whole community.

“They have medical outreaches where dentists and eye care specialists come into the area to cater to the children’s health and at Christmas time they share out food hampers to the students and give the children goodies, toys and prizes which is really to motivate them to do even better it’s a really inspiring group project.”

Moses encourages others to take advantage of the initiative as she sees it as a blessing to parents with economic and time constraints.

She moreover urged society to become involved such programmes.

“Although the programme has been in existence for more than a decade, more can be done to expand and enhance its outreach but it’s the lack of space, human, and financial resources that limits the project… I believe if more persons become involved then the possibilities are endless.”