…funds to aid in shelter, water, sanitation
THE United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is collaborating with the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to provide US$30,000 in much needed relief supplies to Regions 1, 7, and 9 to help Venezuelans who have crossed the borders in search of food and shelter.
In a joint statement to the media Friday, the partners said the CDC with support from UNICEF will preposition relief supplies to enhance the capacity of the said regions to provide basic assistance to those in need as the influx of Venezuelans here increases.
Relief supplies for Shelter, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene are being procured within Guyana to the value of US $30,000 (GY $ 6,226,562).
“The CDC will deploy the relief supplies within the coming weeks to the Regional Administrations for storage and distribution. The relief supplies would benefit an estimated sixty families per region with a total number of persons benefitting estimated at 900,” the statement said.
In partnership with UNICEF, the CDC remains committed to building Guyana’s disaster risk management capabilities through stakeholder engagement.
Meanwhile, earlier this week government disclosed that it is in the process of establishing a homestead settlement area for the 260 confirmed Venezuelans, who are occupying areas in Barima-Waini (Region One.
According to the Ministry of the Presidency’s Public Information and Press Services Unit, Minister of Citizenship Winston Felix at the conclusion of the third multi-agency coordinating committee meeting said the resettlement area will allow the Venezuelans to be self-reliant.
“It is intended that we [will] develop something like a homestead where families are accumulated and eventually we can move them into cash crop farming. We can encourage that so that in the first instance they can feed themselves and if they have surpluses they can sell. We are looking at crops for their sustenance and their immediate needs. Once you get that…going then the next thing is to guide them into areas in which they can sustain themselves. The immediate outcome is that we want to see them properly settled and they must be able to sustain themselves…,” he said.
The economic turmoil facing Venezuela has resulted, in the past few months, in many Venezuelans seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. Many are in search of food and housing.
The minister noted that the agencies on the committee will continue to play their roles in lending whatever assistance is necessary to those in Region One while assessing the migration of Venezuelans into Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region Seven).
“In the meantime, the Ministry of Health is continuing its vaccination [efforts]… [The Department of Immigration is continuing the registration and support work… The Police [are] also following through with the support work to this committee. So, all agencies, locally, are locked into this committee to provide services and support for the Venezuelans in Guyana. We are also exploring the situation in Region Seven [in order] to find out where [the Venezuelans] are and what numbers we have to [cater for],” Felix stated.
The multi-agency coordinating committee has also been working alongside the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Human Rights’ Council (UNHRC) to determine areas of collaboration and support.
Rather than criminalise the Venezuelans, Minister Felix said that the Committee and by extension, the Government, have chosen to respond to the situation in a humane manner, with concern for the safety, health, and accommodation of the migrants.
