With general elections to be held this year, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) / Guyana through its Governance Enhancement Project (GEP), on Friday awarded two grants of US$18, 082 and US$17,353 to the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities and to Merundoi Incorporated, respectively.
The purpose of the grants is to enhance the country’s electoral processes, in that the Guyana Council of Organizations for Persons with Disabilities, will utilize its money to provide persons with disabilities and their families with the tools to improve their ability to participate in national elections, a US Embassy release stated.
The monetary assistance will also enable the Council to mobilise its 19-member affiliates to encourage persons with disabilities to ensure they are on the voters’ list, obtain their new national ID card and also inform those persons with disabilities of the various ways they can effectively exercise their right to vote in the upcoming General and Regional elections, .
Merundoi Incorporated will use its grant to focus on behavioural change and incorporate activities to increase ethnic peace, tolerance and harmony, through a combination of the use of radio with street theatre and community discussions to increase participation in the election process.
Emphasis will also be placed on young voters and voters with low education levels.
USAID/Guyana Mission Director, Carol Horning, according to the release, said the grants “represent a contribution to the election process in Guyana” and “are aimed at increasing participation in elections, targeting different audiences through the provision of information and encouragement of a peaceful process.”