RECOGNISING the humanitarian work of locals in fostering indigenous development, 10 Guyanese were awarded the ‘Sydney Allicock Global Humanitarian Award’ on Saturday at the Umana Yana.

The awardees included Minister of Public Affairs, Dawn Hastings; Mini
ster within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes; Minister of Social Cohesion, George Norton; Tony Games; Patsy Fredericks; George Simon; Robert Frederick Allicock; Loraine Pier; Laura George and Ovid Williams.

This award was established by Founder and President of iChange Nations, Dr. Clyde Rivers in honour of Vice-President and Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Sydney Allicock.

Delivering brief remarks, Minister Allicock noted, “The value of friendship, the value of finding that group of persons with that common understanding with the drive to do good for humanity is a powerful activity.”

The indigenous community, according to Allicock, is plagued by a negative perception of their lifestyles and this effectively leads to the perpetuation of this perception.

“We have persons right in this country who could make a great contribution, but when tend to look at the little problems and blow them out of proportion,” he stressed.

As such, he related his gratitude to the awardees and other people who have been striving to change this negative perception and empower the indigenous communities.

In an invited comment, Allicock told the Guyana Chronicle that selecting the awardees was not an easy task, since there are many persons who have made positive contributions. He explained however that the criterion for this award was for “work done over time” in the areas of indigenous development.

To effectively illustrate the criterion, he reflected upon the work of Minister Broomes in empowering and even rescuing indigenous women.

“She was able to go into the [indigenous] communities and actually rescue young ladies who were trafficked from their communities with the idea of having a better life, but ending up in these mining areas without being paid for months and being kept there,” Allicock noted.

“Her work is more than just being a minister,” he said and reminded that she was a miner who saw first-hand the experiences of these women.

Minister Broomes told this newspaper that she was truly honoured to be selected by Minister Allicock, though she was initially “caught by surprise” when she received the letter saying she had been awarded.

However, she noted that the work she has done was never for recognition.

“I will continue to do what I do until the last breath that I take as a human being,” she affirmed, adding: “I think that vice-president [Allicock] has been out there doing a lot of great work and I know him to be a fair person in his judgement.”

Last year, Dr. Rivers named Minister Allicock the iChange Nations ‘Person of the Year’ for South America for his efforts in fostering the development of indigenous peoples and the hinterland communities.

He returned on Saturday to establish the award and honour these 10 other Guyanese.

In addition to the Guyanese honoured, there were three other recipients of the award: Dr. Charles Kinuthia, hailing from Kenya but now based in Texas, USA; Dr. Margaret Ellis, from Gambia and now also in Texas; and Dr. Erik Kudlis. This trio were awarded for their individual humanitarian efforts worldwide.

The iChange Nations is the world’s largest honouring network, spanning 122 countries, functioning as a new global ethic to support World Peace.