APPROXIMATELY 30 women from villages all across Region Nine participated in training and awareness sessions by the Ministry of Human Services, through the Regional Gender Affairs Committee (RGAC) during an outreach to the region recently.

The forum saw women from Tabatinga, St. Ignatius, Culvert City and Karasabai, among several other villages. The training was done by the Gender Affairs Bureau (GAB) of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, a release said.

The women were in favour of the idea by RGAC to form groups in the various villages to help them deal with a number of social issues that they were very vocal about. They were able to voice their frustration over a number of issues raised at the meeting.

Subject Minister, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, earlier this year pledged to improve the delivery of assistance to vulnerable groups across the country and had announced strategic programmes to target social issues specific to the regions.

“It is imperative that we establish an action plan to accomplish effective service delivery and programmes that will have tangible impact across the country and troubleshoot the problems as a collective group. Engaging groups in each region allows us to understand their peculiar needs and work to address them efficiently including people and communities every step of the way,” Dr. Persaud had said.

According to the Ministry’s Senior Gender Affairs Officer, Hymawattie Lagan, some of the concerns raised during the outreach are the escalation of teenage pregnancy in the villages, unemployment due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and the need for recreational facilities to cater for villagers, especially youths.

Training for young women and girls in Information Technology (IT) and early childhood education were also discussed, and according to Lagan, and the Ministry’s WIIN programme is poised to deliver in those areas.

“We spoke about the formation of youth groups in the villages that would engage youths in a number of activities and assist in the reduction of some of the social issues. This group would be headed by the young female police officer supported by two other young women — a businesswoman and the footballer,” Lagan shared.

Furthermore, arising from the RGAC training, mentoring was discussed and its benefits to residents. RGAC member, Claire Singh, has taken on this responsibility with other members providing support.

According to Lagan, women from the various villages have agreed to form their groups and submit a list to the GAB. This they hope to accomplish by the end of 2021, depending on the COVID pandemic.

Persons who were vaccinated attended the forum and spoke about the safety of the vaccines, encouraging persons to be vaccinated.

The GAB plans to return to Region Nine in the first quarter of 2022 to continue training.