–to help children of Venezuelan migrants adjust

THE Government of Guyana and the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Guyana have partnered on a ‘Safe School Project’ for the children of Venezuelan migrants, who are living in Region One (Barima-Waini) and other regions.

This was announced by Mr. Ian Jones, UNICEF Guyana’s Emergency Specialist at Monday’s Multi-Stakeholder Committee Meeting at the Department of Citizenship, which is tasked with monitoring the migrant situation here. As part of the project, UNICEF Guyana is partnering with the University of Guyana (UG)’s engineering students to expand learning spaces in the regions, using local materials, during the July-August school break.

The Region One villages of Kamwatta, Imbotero, Port Kaituma and Mabaruma will benefit from this initiative, while Whitewater, Mabaruma and Wauna (also in Region One) will receive learning materials and aids. UNICEF Guyana, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, will also continue its Early Childhood Development engagements in Yarrakita, Imbotero and Khan’s Hill.

Meanwhile, the Department of Citizenship is in the process of finalising a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) developed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for the implementation of Population Registration Identity Management Eco-Systems (PRIMES). Minister of Citizenship, Mr. Winston Felix explained that the PRIMES will see migrants being registered, using information and communication technology. The migrants will be issued with a card, which will be used as an indicator that they were processed, and are legal in the country. “So we are going to have laptops stationed in Regions One, Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and other areas that are deemed necessary to capture information on the arriving persons,” Minister Felix said. “These systems would be supported by a mobile printer, which will facilitate the printing of an identity card to say that they were registered and are legal. I would like to make it clear that this is not a National Identification Card, and cannot be used for citizenship purposes. It is simply to identify them, and for them to access social services,” he added.