EXCITED at the very thought of making a difference in the lives of vulnerable youth and senior citizens who possess marketable skills but are stuck in a rut, Guyana’s First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, is soon to roll out plans to introduce initiatives that would empower them to break free and lead exciting and productive lives.This proposal was brought to the fore during an interview with the Chronicle. The First Lady outlined her areas of interest and immediate priorities for introducing “participatory development” in communities where such needs exist.
Even though the modalities have not yet been finalised, Mrs. Granger, as her platform, has opted to consciously use her influence in ways that she considers to be economically viable and more uplifting for both senior citizens and vulnerable youths.
“I do have a concern about them; I have been thinking about it, and talking to a few people about how we can keep our seniors engaged, and merge their experience with the experiences, skills and expertise of our younger people,” Mrs. Granger told the Chronicle.
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

“It’s something I am thinking about doing,” she said, “but I want to do it in a holistic, participatory way and in discussion with the communities where I would like to roll it out. I don’t want to jump in and say, ‘We will do X, Y & Z,’ because every community has its own priorities; and therefore, before I go in saying I want to do this and that, I would like to sit down and talk to the people in the particular community and see how their views and mine can mesh.”
Mrs Granger sees the result of that engagement as a possible platform to develop a relationship that can help build communities.
“I think that, a lot of the time, we have some young people whose parents might have to work long hours, or they might be in a single-parent family. Maybe we can go to a centre or , say, a church building where they can meet with older people [who are skilled] and can connect with them – people who might be able to help them with their homework; teach them a craft or skill; explain things to them, or encourage them to read. It gives them structure and the assurance that somebody is there mentoring them and offering support through all the little vicissitudes of growing up. That will be a starting point,” Mrs Granger said.
Likening the concept to what was once known as the ‘4-H Club’, the First Lady said it is not an attempt at re-inventing the wheel; it is just that sense of community.
Mrs. Granger opined that so many skills would have been lost over the years, it really would make good sense if we could rebuild those skills and market them.
“It would be wonderful, because the kids could also start earning some money as they put these skills to work, and they could get some assistance to learn business practice,” she said.
NICHE MARKETS
Mrs. Granger touted the idea of bringing about a re-birth of locally manufactured candies of yesteryear, such as the once popular butter scotch, sour-drops, pepper mints and the like, and packaging them with attractively designed labels. That can add value to the item and attract more sales, she opined, adding that with good quality preparation and attractive packaging, the candies could be even marketed at the Cheddi Jagan and Ogle International Airports.
“And my dream is to find people who can make those old boiled sweets that we used to get as children. If we could find people who have those skills, and they could teach it to others, that could be a good niche market,” she reasoned.
The First Lady proposed that, in time, at the level of villages, there could be competition for the best prepared and packaged products.
“These are just things I am thinking about that can be done, but I feel if you engage the community and they buy into it, you will have a greater measure of success. I’m talking to people and I am thinking about how we can get the project started.”
Mrs. Granger has expressed preference in going through a church or civil society group to have the project initiated.
“Basically, I want to merge with be it a church group or whatever, and see how we can bring the two together. But essentially, the parents of the children and the seniors would need to buy into it.”
She expressed confidence that the initiative would give the seniors something of interest in their lives, so they wouldn’t just be sitting there looking through the window or watching television; their lives would have meaning.
Meanwhile, expressing her outrage earlier at the practice of child prostitution, which has reared its ugly head locally, the First Lady can also be expected to launch a foundation for the protection of children from sexual predators.

By Shirley Thomas