SEVERAL indigenous village leaders and councillors from Region Nine (Upper Essequibo-Upper Takutu) recently benefited from a sensitisation training programme centred on their rights and responsibilities under the Sexual Offences, the Domestic Violence, the Labour and the Combating Trafficking in Persons Acts.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs (MoIPA), 45 leaders including 22 from eight communities in the Karasabai area and 23 from 12 communities from the Annai area attended the workshop.

Senior Welfare Officer in the MoIPA Pauline Welch, said the session was to educate indigenous leaders about social issues which from time to time arise in their communities. Welch said more often than not, those within the indigenous communities are unaware of the procedures that ought to be employed.

‘Therefore, the Welfare Department sees the importance of sensitising community leaders of these important issues, thus empowering them to better handle the situations when they arise, she stated. The aim of the sensitisation workshop was to have at least two persons who are community leaders from each village in the region, be trained in the identified areas and they would then return to their respective communities and educate residents.

Four welfare officers and three community development officers were recently appointed for the aforementioned sub-regions, all of whom attended the forum. Over the years, the Ministries of Indigenous People’s Affairs and Social Protection have been working with the respective communities and villages across the country to spread awareness about prevalent social issues.

‘The ministry has recognised that with four trained welfare officers in the field much more work will be done in this regard,’ the statement said. These sessions were conducted by Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs Welfare Officer Pauline Welch, and other social and welfare officers of the Ministry of Social Protection.