By Stabroek News

Copyright stabroeknews

Dear Editor,

Since the reopening of schools in Guyana, we have witnessed a deeply troubling and heartbreaking trend: the high rate of missing children. Even more alarming is the lack of meaningful updates from the Guyana Police Force, the absence of coordinated search parties, and the deafening silence surrounding these cases.

We, the parents of Guyana, will not let this be swept under the rug. We need to find these kids as soon as possible. This is not an isolated matter—it is a national crisis, and urgent steps must be taken to ensure our children are safe. Every day without answers adds to the fear, the uncertainty, and the trauma felt in every home across the country.

The tragic case of young Adriana Younge has already left parents traumatized and shaken to the core. Now, with the rising number of missing children since the reopening of schools, we are forced to ask: Are our children truly safe in Guyana?

While the police do post missing children notices on social media, these posts are often delayed, limiting their effectiveness. In a case where hours can mean the difference between life and death, delays are unacceptable or when the child/children is found no updated notice is sent out to say the child has been found, leading to a bunch of reshares on a missing child’s post that has already been found.

We strongly urge the Guyana Police Force to adopt a rapid child alert system—similar to Amber Alerts in other countries—where the public is immediately notified through radio, television, social media, and even text messages when a child goes missing. We also call for visible search parties, neighbourhood patrols, and stronger collaboration between police, schools, and communities.

In addition, the Ministry of Education must take immediate steps to strengthen school safety. Every school should have a designated safe zone radius of at least 50–100 meters (roughly the distance of a few houses down) from the compound, where unauthorized individuals are not allowed to loiter or approach children. Within this zone, only parents, guardians, or persons with written parental permission should be allowed to collect a child. The names of authorized persons must also be submitted to school security in advance.

At present, many school security guards are reduced to merely opening and closing gates. They can and should handle greater responsibilities: actively verifying who is collecting students, refusing to release children to unauthorized persons, and strictly enforcing the rule that only approved guardians with written parental consent may pick up a child.

The safety of our children must not be left to chance. We are calling for accountability, transparency, and decisive national action. The children of this nation are not just numbers in a report—they are our sons, our daughters, our future.