Uses social media to widen her reach

AT 03:00hrs one morning early in 2015, an idea came to Gomin Camacho’s mind, one that evolved into the formation of the Guyana Environment Initiative (GEI), a non-governmental group which targets conservation and maintaining a healthy environment.

It was one of several ideas which continue to occupy Camacho’s mind, in addition to volunteerism, pushing the involvement of youth in agriculture as well as caring for children.
Camacho, a former International Relations student of the University of Guyana, told the Pepperpot Magazine that she has been volunteering since her teenage years. But in 2015, the idea of caring for the environment in the place where she had spent most of her years, came to fruition.

She said that during the second semester in 2015 at the University of Guyana (UG), she observed that there are some persons who would eat and leave their garbage lying around in the classroom. She said instead of going around to pick-up person’s garbage, she decided to inform her friends of her vision to beautify and clean the university’s surroundings with a strategic plan. Two of her closest colleagues jumped on board as soon as she shared her vision.

POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA

“We sat down and we created a strategic plan of how we can execute this idea that we had, targeting the campus,” Camacho said. “I believe the power of social media really played a key part in my activism and voluntary work at UG and outside of the campus.”
She said after making the post “public” on social media platform `Facebook ‘, the movement encouraged persons to take their plastic bottles to her and her friends. “We created bins and we had an influx of volunteers and we formalised the organisation outside of UG,” she said, noting that the message gained momentum off campus.

Sometime later, a few experts mentored the group as they carried their message to the national level and, according to her, the idea was to target at least half of the student population at UG. This would ensure that those persons can take the message of conservation and maintaining a healthy environment to their homes and villages.

THE NEXT PHASE
Camacho said the next phase was to target the children and instill the value of maintaining a healthy environment in their everyday life. She said teachers were reaching out to the body and would invite her as part of their class time to mix and lecture to the children. Schools along the coastland, youth groups and orphanages were among the institutions with which the group interacted, while a few organisations collaborated with them on the movement.

FUNDING

“We made posts on Facebook asking for materials,” she said, noting that this was the easy way to go while the group awaited their organisation being registered with the authorities, in order to gain funding,” she noted. “We already have a technique, a model of what we teach and we have revised the presentation that we give depending on the group or if they ask for a specific environmental theme.”

She said it is important to follow the theme, “Reduce, Re-use and Recycle” also known in their lectures as the “Three Rs”. She said it is a catch-phrase which has been easily practised at schools. “Our presentations are very interactive and we would try to engage the children as much as possible to practice various ways and methods around the house, such as the re-use of containers such as the butter bowl,” she said.

She said this led to the students thinking of other items around the house which can be re-used as well as other ideas to maintain a healthy environment.

NOT ONLY AN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST

At 15 years old, through the Radha Krishna Mandir on Camp Street, Camacho joined the mandir’s youth group which would visit the Paediatric Ward at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) to interact with children there. She described the experience as an eye-opener noting that reading was one of the key tasks undertaken with the children.

She also volunteered with the Bahai Spiritual Empowerment Programme working with 11-15-year-olds in different areas, including book work and practising comprehension skills while community service projects are incorporated in the programme.

UGSS PRESIDENCY
Camacho, who finished her degree last December, also ran for the presidency of the University of Guyana Student Society last year. “It was a really good experience,” she said, as she noted how vocal she was about issues affecting the student population including fees, the condition of the washrooms, and classrooms among others. She said looking at the `Wall’ at the UGSS offices, she saw few females being past presidents of the society and as such, she decided to embark on her campaign for the presidency.

She gained the most votes in the largest faculty-Social Sciences, while her main opponent and eventual winner Norwell Hinds targeted the smaller faculties. She said that after the elections she committed herself to working with the new UGSS president, and as such, she was nominated to sit on the Academic Board of the University in 2017 as a student representative.

EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY

Camacho currently serves on the National Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) of the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GYEITI) as a civil society representative. She was instrumental in the initial phases as Guyana moved towards becoming a member of EITI. Camacho has expressed confidence in the initiative as a much-needed step to protect Guyana’s patrimony. She strongly believes the natural resources of Guyana belong to the citizenry, and she noted that the EITI will serve as a tool to make public information related to the extractive industry.

She also stated that the efforts of GYEITI are most timely as the mining industry continue to expand, and more importantly with the introduction of the oil and gas industry to the nation’s economy. Guyana was accepted as a member of the international body, EITI, in October 2017.

AGRICULTURE
According to the young woman, the way forward for Guyana is agriculture. “Young people can really make Guyana the food basket of not only the Caribbean but on a global scale,” she said.

Some time ago she joined the Caribbean Farmers’ Network, a group of farmers who share best practices and access to markets regionally and internationally. Camacho was Guyana’s rep for the network on these shores and although she held a voluntary position, it provided her with an opportunity for training and being able to attend workshops in the Caribbean.
She said it also allowed her to take her knowledge to farmers and potential suppliers. “I have been encouraging more and more young people to grow their little kitchen gardens, “she said.

Camacho was recently nominated and received a National Youth Award for volunteer work in the category of Environmental Conservation & Protection. She said she plans to embark on a master’s programme in Development Studies and expressed the hope that she would be able to secure a scholarship to advance her academic achievements. In the meantime, she aims to continue her activism drive on various fronts, including the environment.