– In his quest to be a voice for his peoples

By Telesha Ramnarine

TREKKING through rough terrain in the Rupununi region on his motorcycle – at times in bad weather – does nothing to stop Kyle Joseph from getting his job done. He fixes his mindset each time to remind himself that he is making the arduous journey “for a good thing.”

His job, as a United Nations Volunteer with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), takes him to all of the villages scattered across Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo), where he monitors the progress of major projects at those locations and then provides feedback to the agency.
Kyle, 23, was born and raised in Aishalton Village to parents Kateri and Morgan Joseph and finished some of his primary school years in the indigenous community. He moved to Georgetown to attend Queen’s College on a scholarship, but while in lower sixth form he received an opportunity to study abroad.

He went to the Lester B. Pearson College in Canada where he completed a two-year diploma course and received his International Baccalaureate. But during this time, he realised that he no longer wanted to become a doctor as he had initially desired.
“Being there made me come closer to my identity. You have to know what your identity is when you’re elsewhere. Like, who are you when you are outside of Guyana? I think that’s when I really started to come back to my roots as to where I am, and my people, and what I want to do for my community,” Kyle expressed.

Just when he returned home in 2017, the then Ministry of Social Cohesion conducted a programme aimed at bringing together youths around the Rupununi. It was all about cultural sharing and networking during the one week it was hosted in St. Ignatius, Lethem.
“I was asked to help plan the event and I think that’s when I realised how much I enjoyed working with people from the different villages, listening to what they had to say and their ideas for community development,” Kyle recalled.
Shortly after, he found himself an opportunity with UNICEF as a youth advocate for monitoring and evaluation. So two years later, today, he monitors the projects that UNICEF has ongoing in the region, such as those dealing with juvenile justice reform, teenage pregnancy, and other major social issues.
Getting out to the villages and interacting in the various indigenous communities has further strengthened Kyle’s resolve to pursue a career path along the line of helping others. He will be pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Sustainable Development. “I’ve finally decided that’s the direction I want to head. That’s what I enjoy the most and where my passion meets a need that I see.”

So despite any challenge that may come up, Kyle gets on his motorcycle and gets the job done. “I am always happy to go anywhere with my motorcycle. At times, making the time and putting in the effort to get to these places….during rainy season you think of the road and think of all the way you have to travel…but then, I think it’s for a good thing and I go.”

Ultimately, Kyle wants to find himself in a position where he can present his indigenous peoples. “I want to be a voice or a representative. No matter where that position is, whether in government or an international agency, I would like to be a big voice in social development and cultural preservation.”
His passion also includes tourism and photography. “I have been heavily involved in contributing to ‘Visit Rupununi’, a tour agency here that I support because I see myself becoming someone who shows off the Rupununi, our people and landscape.”

Furthermore, Kyle is also looking into starting a clothing drive for the Rupununi with his friends from Georgetown. “I know people in Georgetown who would have good clothes to donate, along with used textbooks and so forth. I want to create a channel for that where they can send that here.”
This initiative is currently in the making, as Kyle continues to see how he can find funding and other support for it.