–among big plans on MoM’s 2023 agenda

THE Men on Mission (MoM) initiative, on Monday unveiled it’s 2023 programme, which will include the building of at least 50 homes for vulnerable persons, camps for young men who have previously passed through the criminal justice system, a series of men’s health clinics, and a focus on rehabilitation of homeless persons.

For 2023, the MoM programme will be divided into five focus areas, namely, male behavioural changes through character building, men’s health, environmental transformation, capacity building for emergency relief efforts and rehabilitation.

The group will also identify communities, countrywide, that have high amounts of unemployed young men, then create projects that will keep them occupied, and give them an opportunity to earn an “honest living”.

There will also be a series of countrywide sessions, called “Stages of Hope”, during which various influential personalities in areas such as sports, entertainment, academia, and medicine will be speaking to men and boys in the communities on how to effectively do conflict resolution, and provide career guidance while fostering male responsibility.

Under environmental transformation, MoM will launch an exercise called, “Colour of Life,” which will support home owners along Guyana’s primary corridors in fixing their fences, painting their buildings and fences, and to plant flowering and colourful plants. The first corridor identified for this exercise is the first few miles of road from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport at Timehri.

Those and other programmes were outlined by Chairman of MoM, Chief of Staff Brigadier Godfrey Bess, during a press conference held at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) headquarters, Camp Ayanganna.

“As 2023 is well on its way, we are ready to roll up our sleeves and make the impact this initiative is meant to have,” Brigadier Bess said.

DEEPEN OUR PARTNERSHIP
He went on to say: “Overall, our 2023 programme will deepen the existing partnership between our Joint Services, community based organisations, faith-based organisations and the private sector, with the unwavering support of both central and local governments.”

Also present at the press conference was Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken.

Some $500 million was approved in the 2023 budget for the MoM initiative; however, the programme has also been receiving overwhelming financial and other support from the private sector.

Since its launch in October, members of MoM has been working to curb gender based violence, providing employment opportunities and mentoring young men.

The organisation has held job and career fairs, health fairs, endorsed fathers taking time off from their busy schedules to spend family time with their loved ones, and constructed in excess of 45 homes for vulnerable Guyanese

A brainchild of President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, MoM was created to bring together at least 1,000 men from across Guyana to mentor young men and boys to address the unique issues facing them.
Stakeholders hope that the programme would be the answer to scourge of domestic violence-related homicides facing the country.

According to Brigadier Bess, the rates of domestic violence, sexual abuse, male unemployment and underemployment, crime and road violence continue to be unsustainable, and so MoM will continue to work with men and boys across the country to address the underlying reasons for these dysfunctions and make the necessary interventions to bring about lasting change.

“The primary driver for MoM remains the urgent need to see transformational behavioural change through character building among men and boys in Guyana,” the Chief of Staff related.

The programme has been having positive effects thus far.

“Our mentors have been having sessions with the male population, giving them guidance as to how to deal with conflict resolutions and I must say that in all of these cases, we’ve been receiving positive feedbacks and reports from the environments and we will continue to work with our male folks,” Brigadier Bess said.

Through the series of one week camps being held for boys, MoM is targeting at least 500 boys across the country. The camps will be held during the August school vacation period and will include instructional sessions, group activities, and other components that are designed to encourage the healthy growth and proper development of boys into men.

The camp for young men who have previously passed through the criminal justice system is being held too to cut down on repeat offences.

In the area of rehabilitation of homeless persons, MoM will be looking to create homeless shelters in the city and towns.

“The facility would provide a different level of hygiene, healthy meals daily, and access to quality healthcare. The lives of these citizens should be significantly improved by the proposed MoM efforts,” Brigadier Bess said.

The initiative is also looking to repurpose or construct new buildings to provide multi-family shelters that could be used to support families displaced by natural or manmade disasters.