PRESIDENT and Founder of the Bahamas Faith Ministries International, Dr Myles Munroe, last evening noted that men are the foundation of the country.

The guest speaker was delivering his address last evening to hundreds of men from all walks of life gathered at the National Park in Georgetown, at a massive rally.

It was part of a number of activities to mark National Men’s Week under the theme “Men as Nation Builders’ a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, in collaboration with the Men’s Empowerment Network (MEN), the first of its kind in Guyana.

The President of the International Leadership Training Institute said he was impressed with the President’s “great commitment to the welfare of the country”, and also for the national initiative.

Referring to the event as historic, he noted the role of male in nation building, and conceded that there is male crisis not only here in Guyana, but in the Caribbean as a whole, alluding to a number of issues including crime, domestic violence, and school drop-outs.

He maintained that the male is the most powerful force in nation building, stressing, “We need, as men, to raise the standard in our society, and I believe that in this rally tonight, I am convinced because of the national commitment of this country to putting attention on the male, that Guyana is about to set the pace for the rest of the nations in the Caribbean.”

“Guyana has to be proud; you are setting a standard for all of the nations of the Caribbean to follow,” he reiterated.

He encouraged men to build their self-image and insisted, “This nation needs you badly because you are the foundation of the country.”

“I close tonight by challenging you, be the foundation of Guyana,” Dr Munroe charged the gathering, adding, “I believe that tonight is the beginning of a new Guyana because you have begun to address the most important part of this national reconstruction; most of the programmes in our countries focus on women but I want to commend this country.”

President Bharrat Jagdeo, delivering his address, said Guyana is pleased to have Dr Munroe, a distinguished son of the Caribbean, who has always found some note of inspiration to pass on to the people of the region, and the wider world.

“I just got in this morning from a very hectic trip to the Middle East, but I wanted, by my presence here tonight, to say how important this initiative is to me personally, and to my Government,” he stressed.

Thanking those present, he underscored the importance of getting together as Guyanese men, noting that the initiative, may have emerged out of some of the social problems experienced in society, and a decision to engage men, who most people think, are the main perpetrator of these social problems.

The Head of State said, “But I want the concept of us getting together to be much broader than talking to you about problems or chastising men. This has to be the reawakening of very, very important values, or the creation of values in our society among ourselves, and the sharing of these values, so we are prepared for the next stage of our lives, and we are prepared for the challenges that would inevitably confront us as we live our lives.”

He noted that challenges will continue in society, but it is “how we deal with those vices that will characterise what we are, and would define who we are.”

“And therefore, I hope that this is a journey that we will walk together, supporting each other…it is a stony road, but if you have large numbers of people and willing shoulders and helping hands then we can make this journey to a better life for ourselves, a better life for our country, and the people who live here,” he insisted.

“Many times we say we want the man to return to being the head of the family and we all desire that; but are we prepared to be the head of the family in this new era, and what are the skills that we need to develop so that we are recognised as the head of the family?,” he asked.

“If two thirds of the graduates of the University of Guyana and the University of the West Indies are female; if the largest number of drop-outs from schools are boys – how can we be prepared to be the head of the family; the head of the family must be a knowledgeable person, the head of the family must provide for the family, in this new era must be able to acquire some skills, and if we are lagging behind in academic education, then there is a big problem,” he said.

President Jagdeo underscored that there are ways of dealing with these issues alluding to the problems of domestic violence, and most of the single parents being women.

“So we are not performing many of the functions that this head of the household should be doing,” the President noted.

“We need to develop communication skills, but communication skills that don’t change our nature. Men are different from women, and we need to recognise that difference, so we are not going to go down a process that changes the nature of men,” he highlighted.

“We have to explain to the other groups that we think differently, we process things differently, and we must be able, if we develop the right skills, to communicate our view-point effectively, so there is a lot of work for us to do, and I am so happy that this initiative has started,” he said.

The Head of State congratulated all who have worked on the event, adding, “They have created a new chapter in our history, and I hope that what we learn together as we go down this road would help also at the national level.”

He assured tha
t his Government will be working with the group because it wants it to succeed, adding, “If we succeed, then we can take better care of women without changing our nature, and we can create greater self-esteem and we can have more prosperous young men; and we can have a society where our boys are not preyed to drug dealers, and a society where men and women are equal not just by law, but in actual fact.”

He also encouraged the gathering to offer special prayers for Haiti and its people, and, “we must stand by Haiti now”.

He reiterated, “We are here to work with men for the development of our country; men who are responsible, who will take care of their families, their women and lead productive lives.”

Giving brief remarks as well were Chief-of-staff Commodore Gary Best; Shaik Moeen-ul-Hack of the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana; Pandit Jagmohan of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha; and also present were Ministers of the Government.