–Men of Mission: The 1,000 Men initiative launched to address issues facing men throughout Guyana
PRESIDENT, Dr. Irfaan Ali on Friday called on men in Guyana to become more conscious of the areas where they are falling behind in society.
The President was at the time delivering the feature address at the launch of “Men of Mission: The 1000-Men initiative” at the Guyana Defence Force Camp Ayanganna Ground.
Though the programme initially targeted getting 1,000 men to sign up as mentors, on its opening day, approximately 3,000 men registered to be mentors.
Over 4,500 men were said to be in attendance at the launch of the inspirational countrywide initiative that will see men signing up to be mentors, or be mentored in a network created to address many of the problems facing them.
“We as men, we have dropped the ball on community, family and society. Today, it is about us picking up back that ball. Today, we want to create this movement that portrays men in a positive light, that will work in a network in a collective manner to resolve the problem,” President, Dr. Ali expressed.
He added: “Today, we are dedicating ourselves to not being part of the problem, but to do something to create a positive momentum through which future men can be more involved; not just as role models to their children and families, but can be inspirational stories.”
The President drove home his point by laying out the statistics in several areas in which men are falling behind, among them males constituting the largest cohort of dropouts from nursery to secondary school, the life expectancy for men being lower than women, and some 36 per cent of deaths among men being preventable.
“If you want to see your grandchild grow up, you have to take action now. We need to address this; we need to stop for a moment and reflect and understand the reality that faces us as men,” the President emphasised.
The problem is not one that is limited to Guyana, but is a global phenomenon. The President noted that, globally, more than half of the population of youths out of school is boys. However, it is hoped that the initiative started in Guyana can be a model that other countries could perhaps adopt or emulate.
This project is meant to uplift the younger generation of men who face many societal ills, such as drug abuse, domestic violence, gang violence and other violent crimes. This will be achieved by providing them with guidance and counselling, recreational and fitness activities, and creating economic empowerment through temporary employment schemes, a release on the subject said.
The President believes that the programme could very well be the answer to a current scourge of domestic violence-related homicides facing the country.
A broad-based national committee, headed by Brigadier Godfrey Bess, Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, has been established to spearhead the effort. The committee includes Commissioner of Police (ag), Clifton Hicken, as well as senior members of the Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Police Force.
Both Bess and Hicken were present at Friday’s launch, and imparted inspirational words to the men gathered at the event.
According to Bess, in too many cases, men have lost their sense of purpose in society, whether through their own doing or societal factors, but essentially because of a lack of good role models.
“I see a support system that is missing and is needed. Through our collective efforts, we will fix our men; we have the capabilities to fix our men. Once we have positive role models working together, we will be able to achieve that change that is necessary,” Brigadier Bess said.
Commissioner Hicken, in his remarks, left the young men in the audience with an inspirational story of his success after failure in his pursuit to join the Police Force. He was initially rejected when he first applied to join the Guyana Police Force (GPF), but today, he is the leader of that organisation.
“Adversity is a cocoon for greatness. Embrace your challenges; your challenges pave the way for your purpose on earth,” the Commissioner told the men gathered.
The audience also heard inspirational stories of success after failure from businessman and singer Saiku Andrew, and Cardiologist, Dr. Mahendra Carpen.
Farhaud Amin of the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG); Reverend Kwame Wilson of the Christian community; and Pandit Haresh Tiwari of the Hindu community, also presented inspirational stories.
Others making remarks at the event included Dr. Guy Low, and Chairman of the National Toshaos Council (NTC), Toshao Derrick John. Several members of the diplomatic community and other Cabinet members were also in attendance.
