$70M youth initiative gaining traction among youths

DPI, Guyana, Friday, June 15, 2018

With millions of dollars available for community development, young people are taking the opportunity to get a piece of the pie through the Youth Innovation Project of Guyana (YIPoG).

With the sum of $70Million available, young people can access up to two million dollars to create solutions to issues within their communities using STEAMS. Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Anthropology, Archeology, Arts, Architecture, Mathematics and Spirituality.

Director of Youth, Melissa Carmichael-Haynes during an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI) said close to 100 proposals have been submitted thus far. “We have 93 persons on board, who have been working with trainer/mentors to further develop their proposals.

Applications have been received from youths all across the country. Of the 93 proposals, nine are completed thus far. However, the Youth Director explained that mentors are working diligently with the young people to ensure their proposals are feasible.

“Young people are interested, their ideas are wonderful, there have been several that propose great solutions to community problems.” She further added that “once that process is done, we get to share these ideas with the general public. This demonstrates the fact that young people are interested in developing both their communities and the country.”

Over 200 proposals are expected to be submitted before applications close on June 30.

In 2017, the sum of $50Million was made available which saw a total of 21 groups and individuals being awarded grants to create innovative solutions. Most of the projects are currently in their implementation stage while other developers are in the process of securing relevant material to get their project off the ground.

Some of the projects in 2017 included the construction of a benab that provides a friendly space in the community of Kabakaburi, to facilitate the teaching of the Arawak dialect. Another was the cutting-edge training in garment construction provided to several young women and girls by the Building Bridges Foundation. A ‘Swoop mobile App’ was created by Shemar Spencer with the primary focus on the bartering of goods and services, no money is involved. The Non-Pariel Green House Club is currently building their community centre using recycled tyres and plastic bottles.

By: Isaiah Braithwaite.

Image: Anil Seelall.