NOTING that daily actions would have a permanent effect on their life, Chief Education Officer, Dr. Marcel Hutson, has urged dozens of young men in Berbice to work hard in every aspect of their daily life to ensure a successful future.

Dr. Hutson made this plea to over 70 young men between the ages of 13 and 25, who participated in a ‘Boys to men’ empowerment seminar.

“I want to challenge every young man today, to apply yourself. It does not matter where you were born, or who your parents are or were … You must apply yourself to work, to development, to be progressive,” Dr. Hutson said.

The young men who were drawn from New Amsterdam and surrounding communities, converged at the New Amsterdam Multilateral School for the first Leadership and Empowerment conference hosted by Grace Temple Assembly of God Church and the US Embassy Guyana. Three more are slated to be held.

Addressing the attentive audience, all of whom were dressed in a specially designed black T-shirt, Reverend Dr. Hutson made biblical references while explaining that lengthy sleeping is associated with poverty.

“Sleeping does not conjure to your eyes being shut, but it is that you are not engaging in activity that takes you to higher heights. What you do daily, will determine what you become permanently. So, if you spend most of your time engaging with non-productive activity, you may find yourself in a rocking chair without nothing. Rather than rejoicing, knowing that you have accomplished something, your lives will be filled with despair and frustration”, he said.

Meanwhile, Violeta Thalandis, the US Embassy’s Public Affairs Officer questioned the young men on their understanding of leadership and empowerment, and their reason for being there.

“What is it you want for your life?” she questioned before adding that they have to make a choice.

“I challenge you to come up with a goal. Write it down. We will look to see who has the most creative, the most exciting goal for themselves and we will post that on our Facebook page”, Thalandis promised.

Another speaker, Dr. Darren Shako, addressed the issue of managing personal hygiene. The areas touched ranged from taking a shower everyday to applying colognes and scented oils.

Meanwhile, there was also one-on-one career guidance for participants from representatives of various learning institutions: Jainarine Sookpaul, Manager of the GuySuCo Training Centre; Stephen Alexander of the University of Guyana (UG); Devon Thomas of the New Amsterdam Technical Institute; Clarence Shako, Board of Industrial Training and Vanessa Jacobs, Head Mistress of the New Amsterdam Multilateral School.

In addition, the young men were exposed to table etiquette and other social graces.

The session, which was one of a four-part series was developed in response to the observed challenges of young men, many of whom are willing, but lack the social and psychological tools to overcome the intrinsic challenges of adolescence and early adulthood. There was also an observed absence of strong positive male role-models inside and outside of the home to support young males.