Kencil Banwarie is what many may call a well-rounded person. Apart from being a teacher at the Achiever's Academy in Green Farm, Coverden, he is also the leader of his church's youth group, and is involved in social work. He is also an accomplished musician, and a co-host of a Christian television programme called Youths for Christ-TV which is aired on Sunday evenings on GWTV 2.

Yet one of the most intriguing things about Kencil is his passion for literature and linguistics. He has a keen interest in the Guyanese oral folklore tradition as well as in Creole studies. In fact, Kencil has made a name for himself as one of the promoters of the Creole language in Guyana. Last year, he sparked a debate in the letter columns of the nation's daily newspapers, when he raised the question about the role that the Creole language should play in Guyana

In a recent interview with The Scene, the 22-year-old carefully explained his view. "Creole is a language by itself and not a bad standard of English," he said, adding that he "would like to see the Creole language to be something more valued, not necessarily being made the official language of Guyana."

But he believes that "the stigma attached to the Creole language is something embedded in our colonial past that leads to class distinction in our society. The reluctance to embrace the Creole language is a rejection of a vital part of the Guyanese identity and this leads to people being discriminated because of their language." It is this discrimination that he is most concerned about since he believes that all Guyanese speak Creole in some form and as such "the obvious discrimination against those that speak Creole on a wider scale is unjustified."

Kencil's passion for linguistics developed while he was a student at the University of Guyana, where he distinguished himself as an outstanding all-round student. This resulted in him gaining a pass with credit as well as being awarded several prizes including the Dennis Irving award for the person who makes the greatest cultural contribution to campus life. He was also awarded two other prizes while at UG including the prize for the Best Graduating Student in Literature and Linguistics in 2005.

Not surprisingly, Kencil intends to do further studies in the area of Linguistics and hopes to pursue a Master's degree in Anthropological Linguistics.

But before he begins this next phase of study, he plans on developing an appreciation of Guyanese Literature by going into schools and reading and discussing Guyanese poetry. He says this is needed because many Guyanese students do not have an appreciation for Guyanese rich literary heritage.

In fact, this demonstrates another important aspect of Kencil's life which is youth work. He enjoys working with young people since he believes that they need guidance in many areas including academic and moral guidance. The Hauraruni resident enjoys working with youth in rural areas since he recognises that they do not have as many opportunities as urban youth have. It is this love for youth that sees him desiring to remain in the teaching profession.

Kencil is still undecided about his aspects of his future. He said that he is "undecided about the migration issue" but that he would really like to remain and help to further develop Guyana. However, wherever he goes Kencil is determined to fight for what he believes.