Dear Editor,
A young, brilliant Guyanese scholar, Yogeeta Persaud, of the simple village of Zorg, on the Essequibo Coast, died suddenly last Sunday in Peru. Guyana lost a young lady, whose potential was unlimited. Guyana lost a young lady who, while still very young, already contributed more than most Guyanese to our national image and national psyche.
When she topped the CSEC at the national level, she made all Guyana proud, but she also brought pride to Essequibo and particularly her school, the Anna Regina Multilateral School, and her village. While her parents and her family were proud of young Yogeeta, her achievements not only elevated their status, her accomplishment as a teenager elevated Zorg, her school, and Essequibo.
Her achievements included being the top CSEC student in the Caribbean in 2013, bringing pride and honour to a whole nation. Most Guyanese would have never met her, but all knew her name. I was privileged to have met her more than once. Yogeeta may not have been our own child or sister or related to us in any way, but at that moment we shared her successes and she was one of us.
Earlier, she was one of Guyana’s top NGSA students and in 2014, was a top performer in CAPE. As a Guyanese scholar, Yogeeta went on to study Biochemistry at Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York, where she again proved to be a top student. Her brilliant journey took her to Peru where she was combining vacation with volunteer work, being a volunteer with “Volunteer Doctors Around the World”.
Yogeeta’s short but brilliant journey on earth ended in Peru last Sunday after a reported fall. Yogeeta died while extending a helping hand to people she did not know personally, but who she felt linked to by her humanity. From the reports, there is nothing for any one of us to think that something untoward happened. There does not seem to be anything suspicious about her death. There is no one that can be blamed. As her parents, family, friends and fellow villagers mourn her passing, all of Guyana join in mourning and celebrating a life that brought pride and honour to our country. While there is nothing for us to be suspicious and there does not seem like there is anyone to blame, her parents and many of her Guyanese sisters and brothers would like to know more about how young Yogeeta died. The Guyanese Government must help find answers so that as we say goodbye to a brilliant Guyanese soul, we can do so knowing that nothing untoward caused her death.
To her parents, family, friends, villagers and her school, I send my profound sympathies. May her soul rest in peace.
Sincerely,
Dr Leslie Ramsammy