The Men on Mission syndicate has embarked on an aggressive development agenda that will see the building of at least 50 homes in 2023.
This was disclosed at a press conference on Wednesday at Base Camp Ayanganna, where the 2023 work programme was outlined, with the intention of strengthening the existing partnership between the joint services, community-based organisations, faith-based organisations, and the private sector.
Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force and Chairperson of the Men on Mission Committee, Brigadier Godfrey Bess, highlighted that the selection process for persons who receive these homes remains objective, and is done on a needs basis.
He said, “We have recognised the importance of ensuring that we have criteria so that the most vulnerable persons benefit from these homes. We have a structured approach to this activity so that our vulnerable persons are accommodated.”
Further, he noted some categories of persons include the elderly, those living with disabilities, single parents, and victims of natural disasters.
“These are the categories we look at, and we rank them as essential, important or desirable. Essential areas are the priority ones that we work with,” he disclosed.
He stated that the assessments are screened to ensure that homes are prepared based on a standard that the planning committees have worked on.
“We also look at persons who may be squatters, if they have dependents, and among our men on mission we have established an assessment team and we have qualified and objective persons who will look at these assessments,” Brigadier Bess explained.
Thus far, approximately 40 homes have been built by the Men on Mission.
Meanwhile, another area of focus will be the rehabilitation of homeless persons. In this regard, Men on Mission will seek to create facilities to provide shelter for the homeless in the city and towns.
Alex Graham, Public Relations Officer for the M.O.M National Committee, pointed out, “The shelters will be approached in two ways; one is to repurpose some existing buildings, and two, to construct new buildings where there is a need but no existing building that can be repurposed.”
Currently, there is an ongoing countrywide assessment of available buildings in select areas. Once this is completed, they will be able to identify where the need is for new structures.
He added, “The aim overall, is to ensure that there are facilities that are contiguous to major population centres.”
The 2023 programme will also see the implementation of a series of one-week boys’ camps, mental health clinics, and beautification exercises to advance MOM’s agenda in the areas of environmental transformation, capacity building, rehabilitation, health and character building.
Recently, in celebration of International Women’s Day, the Men on Mission set out to assemble a total of 500 vulnerable women across the country to provide a meal in a show of love and appreciation. From this exercise, close to 5,000 meals across the country were served. This is another indication of the massive impact that the consortium will continue to have.
Since its launch in October, the Men on Mission has remained committed to its mandate of making efforts to curb gender-based violence, providing employment and mentorship opportunities to guide young men into avenues of productivity and character building.
These aims have been accelerated through a number of exercises, such as clean up exercises, job and career fairs, and the recent ‘At Home with Dad’ initiative, which saw fathers and father figures across the country spending quality time with their families, engaging in bonding activities.
The Men on Mission is the brainchild of His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, aimed at tackling toxic masculinity and creating a positive environment and safe space for men, promoting integrity, productivity and accountability, through mentorship and humanitarian engagement.
