 the determined crew  the determined crew the determined crew webmaster tue 4102018 1018 by m margaret burke the university of guyana s final year students of tain campus berbice have been very determined to construct a shade house and to present it to the winifred gaskin memorial secondary school it is mandatory for final year students who are reading for their degree in social work at the university to actively engage in activities which will help them to cultivate what they would have learned during the four years of study choosing the winifred gaskin secondary school this was the initiative of the faculty of social sciences final year project for the course in professional development 2 dsw 4100 under the guidance of lecturer chelsey halley crawford it was steered by three studentschristine persaud ashleyann fable and andrea charles who gave themselves the name the determined crew after the outline was given by halleycrawford for choosing somewhere to work with the rehabilitation school in port mourant and the special needs school in new amsterdam were the two schools given much thought by the three students but in order to make every group member satisfied with location the winifred gaskin memorial secondary school was the final choice upon speaking with the headmaster mr imran ally in the first instance he was delighted to have the determine crew andrea charles told the pepperpot magazine charles said that the winifred gaskin secondary school is located in what is considered as a catchment area that is said to be of a low socioeconomic standing furthermore it was observed that there is a prevalence of illicit drug use among other social problems in the area it was also believed that some of these factors may have an impact on the lives and performance of the students of the institution as such one of their main targets of intervention was the shade house which is to be used by the students as part of their farming activities she added that the determined crew also got involved in counselling and motivational talks the journey  it should be noted that had it not been for our heavenly father the project could not have been a success the determined crew upon embarking on the journey knew it would not have been an easy task to get accomplished we knew that it required a lot of commitment patience cooperation and skills however we were ready to take on such a role and as such did not back down from the task charles said bringing about change charles told the pepperpot magazine that as a team they held each other s hands and encouraged each other throughout the journey just to fulfill one of the longawaited dreams of the school the final year student said that for the social work students it was not about just doing a project but the emphasis was placed on bringing about a change wherever they are placed provision of needs the main responsibility of the social worker is to provide for felt needs of the client and to improve their present condition it s not just about a good grade but also to leave a smile on someone s face by changing the situations for the best it was not a project that was pushed into the face of the school but the headmaster expressed that the shade house was an urgent and long expected dream for the agriculture department of the school he also stated that the students tend to feel demotivated to go out into the sun to work and as such the shade house would aid in their agriculture practicum for the cxc students from the start this project was a collaborative effort charles said the willing support from headmaster staff students and community members was key to the success of the project project cost charles said that the shade house cost approximately 96000 and that sum of money could not have been realised were it not for some generous and kindhearted people who contributed significantly such persons are poonai s pharmacy chattergoon supermarket ishmiel hamid general stores both at fyrish and rosehall razac anamayah administrator of the anamyah hospital dr sugrim and the emo supermarket also the carpenter junior dejonge and boys did an amazing job in constructing the shade house the determined crew is very grateful for all the support we received in accomplishing this task  closing ceremony the project was completed before march 20 and was handed over to the winfred gaskin secondary school on march 22 2018 in the form of a closing ceremony during the ceremony the determined crew and the headmaster expressed their heartfelt gratitude to each other while halleycrawford also expressed her gratitude to the school and the group for such a marvellous job done encouragement to other social work students it does not matter the task given to you once you look at it in a positive an optimistic way you can get through the famous light bulb inventor thomas edison tried a thousand ways in getting his bulb invented each way he would have learnt something different why it didn t work and were able to correct it also there is one time when thomas edison lab caught fire after so many efforts he would have put into his lab it is said that he slept on the lab s table many nights but instead of becoming frustrated in which many of us would have he sent the children home to go and call their mother for they might never have been able to see such a big fire again  mercilinburke2017 gmailcom  article adapted from  http guyanachroniclecom 20180408 thedeterminedcrew tain campus 