[www.inewsguyana.com] – The Guyana and Canadian governments have teamed up to train locals from the 10 Administrative Regions to be “first responders” in tackling social issues in their communities.
According to the Ministry of Social Protection, a statement from the Canadian High Commission said it is collaborating with the Ministry to run off a 5-day workshop Monday at to train 40 persons from 20 communities across Guyana to tackle pressing social concerns.
The Workshop begins at 8:30am at the Brandsville Apartments, Pike Street, Campbelville, Georgetown. High Commissioner of Canada, Mr Pierre Giroux and Social Protection Minister, Volda Lawrence, will address the participants.
“The High Commission of Canada, through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), is supporting the Ministry of Social Protection to develop a cadre of hinterland-based resource persons, through training, with knowledge and skills to serve as first responders in addressing social issues and providing information on services provided by the Ministry.”
The statement said the prevention and reduction of sexual and gender-based violence in Guyana’s hinterland areas is a key objective of the 5-day initiative
“The prevention and elimination of violence against women and gender-based and other forms of interpersonal violence requires the involvement of all. As such, prevention strategies should be holistic, with multiple interventions undertaken in parallel in order to have long-lasting and permanent effects,” the statement noted.
It said many sectors, actors and stakeholders need to be involved in the fight to end sexual and gender-based violence here.
“More evidence is emerging on what interventions work to prevent violence—from community mobilisation to change social norms, to comprehensive school interventions targeting staff and pupils, to economic empowerment and income supplements coupled with gender equality training,” the High Commission release said.
“The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives is pleased to be a partner in this process with the Ministry of Social Protection because CFLI has been based on the principles of local ownership of projects to ensure sustainability and maximise the benefits to local stakeholders. Under this project, participants will be encouraged to identify and highlight issues in their respective communities and provide initial informed guidance on possible courses of action to address them” the statement said.
The 5-day programme ends on December 4.
