34 graduate from ‘Care for the Elderly and First Aid’ Workshop

Georgetown, Guyana – (June 15, 2018)

First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, this afternoon, commended the 34 graduates for successfully completing the Care for the Elderly and the First Aid, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and the use of the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training workshop. The workshop was organised by the Office of the First Lady in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Protection. The Closing Ceremony was held at the Baridi Benab at State House, Georgetown.

Mrs. Granger, in her remarks, encouraged the graduates to use the certificate that they have achieved to earn gainful employment. “We have embarked on a programme to ensure that whatever job you do, you are trained to do it, so you are going to be trained practitioners,” she said.

The First Lady also thanked the Ministry of Social Protection for their continued support for the programme, noting that “I am very thankful for the confidence reposed in me by the Minister and the Ministry and of course, by the support we get at all levels…which makes it possible for us to embark on these exercises…,” she said.

Meanwhile, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Secretary-General to Guyana, Ms. Patrice La Fleur urged the graduates to not only seek employment, but to share the education and skills they have obtained through their participation in the workshop. “I urge you to make the most of your training, it is a huge and significant investment in your present and future status,” she said.

The five-day workshop was aimed at providing caregivers with the requisite knowledge that caregivers need to be effective at their job. Areas covered in the training include responsibilities of the caregiver and skills in communicating with the elderly. It also focused on dealing with mental health issues such as Alzheimer’s disease, stress management, abuse of seniors, management and care for diabetics and feeding of seniors. It was facilitated by Licenced Clinical Social Worker, Ms. Ismay Griffith and Gender Consultant at the Ministry of Social Protection, Ms. Hazel Halley-Burnett.

In an invited comment, Ms. Dianna Deonarine, a graduate of the programme, said she plans to pursue the personal care assistant programme as she works towards her new career path as a full-time caregiver or nurse.

Ms. Oneisha Lane, another graduate, expressed her gratitude the First Lady for coordinating the programme and said that “I have gained a lot of knowledge about how to care for elderly persons and how much this need is overlooked by other people in society. So this programme really raised a lot of awareness about how we should care for the elderly,” She said

Minister of Education, Ms. Nicolette Henry, Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Mr. Keith Scott, Minister within the Ministry of Public Affairs, Ms. Dawn Hastings-Williams, Coordinator of Women Across Differences (WAD), Ms. Clonel Samuels-Boston, Chairman of the Board of Industrial Training, Mr. Clinton Williams and Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Protection, Mr. Adrian Ramrattan also attended the event.