19-year-old is new Toshao of Shea village
Newly elected Toshao of Shea village, Jason Caitan
Newly elected Toshao of Shea village, Jason Caitan

—says he’s eager to make community a better place

JASON Caitan, a 19-year-old resident of Shea, in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), was elected Toshao of the village, on May 11, and he is aiming to make his village a better place for all of its residents.
Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday, Caitan related that his decision to run for Toshao was made after his family members and other community members encouraged him. The support was, however, not universal.
“Most of the villagers (thought) I am too young to become a leader, but that didn’t stop me,” the newly-elected Toshao said.
Cognisant that he had to win over the support of his fellow villagers if he wanted to be elected, the young man spent some time engaging people.
“I decided that I will have a campaign to have the villagers come out to listen to me and what are my plans,” he recounted to this newspaper.

But even before engaging the villagers on his plans, he surveyed Shea to identify what the needs of the village are and what changes and developments he would introduce. Among the needs identified were: a building for indigenous activities only, the creation of a men’s group to impart skills and knowledge to younger ones, developing the roads and bridges that lead to the villagers’ farms, and developing the village ranch.
Now that he has been elected, he said that he looks forward to implementing these plans. He, however, acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic remains a challenge for indigenous communities.
In the South Rupununi area of Region Nine, where Shea is located, there has been a recent outbreak of COVID-19 cases, after many villages in this area managed to remain COVID free for more than a year.

Caitan affirmed that he and the councillors supporting him on the village council will ensure that they take care of the villagers. Importantly, he said that most of the villagers already received their first dose of their COVID-19 vaccine and are willing to take the second dose.
Overcoming the challenges of COVID-19 will require support and togetherness from all of the people in Shea, the young Toshao said.
“My message to my people of Shea and also indigenous people all across Guyana is to trust in God [and] to work in unity in order to see development in my community and in the country as a whole, despite the pandemic,” Toshao Caitan said.
In Indigenous communities all across Guyana, village elections are ongoing. The communities are choosing their new local leaders who will be tasked with spearheading development in the villages. Caitan will be joined by a number of other leaders.

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