PARTICIPANTS from six of Guyana’s ten administrative regions are currently working towards completing several community projects which fall under the Youth Empowerment, Inclusion and Reconciliation Project.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Collin Croal, updated the press recently on the overall project, which is being funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

He said the overall project began in April 2012, and all of the regional projects are expected to be completed shortly, so as to coincide with the September 2014 completion date. A maximum of $1M has been allocated for each of those projects, Croal reminded.

And the UNDP has said that this project has addressed, and will continue to address, the challenges of inadequate youth participation in governance, and the persistent social challenges which deprive youths of fulfillment of their rights.

This project would also improve the capacity of youths at the community level to become protagonists for good social and governance practices, and would allow them to participate in local governance.
Further, the project will increase youth participation in development programmes, and develop a feedback mechanism for youth and policy makers to monitor policy and programme implementation, and support a mechanism for dispute resolution at the local level, the UNDP has said.

Providing an update a few days ago, Croal said that training of the youth leaders was completed, and participants are working on another component of the project — setting up the ICT (Information Communication Technology) hubs across the regions.

Croal said Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) has undertaken to construct a waiting area at the Supenaam Speedboat Terminal. The evaluation of the award for the contractor has just been completed, and the project is very shortly expected to commence. Its completion date is within one month of its commencement date.

The region has identified the President’s Youth Choice Building at Cotton Field, Essequibo Coast for its ICT hub, and electricity for the area would be installed in the coming month.

As for Region Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara), Croal said the young people there have identified as their project the enhancement of the children’s ward at the West Demerara Regional Hospital. The project proposal has been approved, and they are currently collecting quotations for the procurement of materials, etc. The ICT hub will be placed at the Education Building at Plantain Walk, Pouderoyen.

Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica) has identified the Literacy Enhancement Awareness Project, to be placed on the ground floor of the Triumph Office, which is undergoing rehabilitation works that are to be completed by the end of June.

The project is expected to begin immediately after, and the ICT hub will be placed at this same location.

Croal said Region Five (Mahaica/ Berbice) has identified the Learning Resource Centre as its project, to be placed at Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice. The building is nearing completion in terms of rehabilitation, and in the new month, the project is expected to start up. The ICT hub would be placed there.

Region Six (East Berbice/C’tyne) has identified the construction of a Voluntary Counselling and Testing Site as its preferred project. This project would be set up at the New Amsterdam Municipal Market. By July, the location for the ICT hub would be identified and approved.

Croal explained that the young people in Region Ten (Upper Demerara/Berbice) have identified rehabilitation of the Kara Kara Playfield in Mackenzie as their project. This is to help keep some of the young people off the streets, Croal informed, and the YMCA Building there will house the ICT hub.

(By Telesha Ramnarine)