Baramita on the move!

─ Village witnessing major development under Coalition Govt

By Synieka Thorne

DPI, Guyana, Friday, June 3, 2019

The community of Baramita located in Barima-Waini, Region 1 has been experiencing steady development over the past four years, as the government is determined to find long term solutions to the many issues affecting the Carib community.

This was said by Minister of State, Dawn Hastings-Williams who, along with Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock and the ministry’s Special Assistant on Projects and Community Development, Martin Cheung conducted an outreach in the village on Friday.

When the Coalition Government came into office in 2015 it met a depressed community plagued with social ills including drugs and alcohol abuse, sexual and domestic violence and suicide, especially among youths.

Immediately, the government established an inter-ministerial taskforce to work with the Village Council and other stakeholders to develop and implement strategies to deal with the social ills affecting the growth of the mining area.

Since then, the village has been witnessing major development with specific emphasis on youth empowerment. These include; the relocation of the public space from the airstrip to a quieter area. The new area now has a nursery and primary school and a hospital along with living quarters for nurses, doctors and teachers; more than 500 birth certificates were distributed to residents, many of whom were never registered and the airstrip rehabilitated among others.

A hot meal kitchen was also constructed for the primary school students, while the community guest house and village office were renovated. The health post also received a new ATV to conduct outreaches in the satellite areas and the Ministry of Agriculture provided training to persons in kitchen garden techniques.

According to Toshao Sharmaine Rambajue, through the Hinterland Scholarship Programme, fifteen students are currently attending schools in Port Kaituma and Mabaruma, and the Guyana Technical Institute (GTI) and the Guyana Industrial Training Centre. One student is also attending the Kuru Kuru Training Centre (KKTC) through the Ministry of Social Protection, while a young woman completed the Community Health Worker (CHW) training at Mabaruma.

Toshao Rambajue explained that the Village Council is currently recruiting young people to be enlisted in the Guyana Police Force. Ten youths also completed the first phase of computer training. Second phase of the programme will recommence this month and the best of the lot will undergo training in GIS and mapping through the Civil Defence Commission (CDC).

Additionally, the Toshao noted that the computer hub was completed and is now awaiting the installation of computers and internet service.

Utilising the 2018 Presidential Grant, the Village Council was able to rehabilitate the community playground. The village also received $1M to construct a toll booth to monitor the influx of alcohol and visitors entering the village, computer and printer for the school and a guitar for the cultural group.

Speaking to the residents at a community meeting held at the Baramita Primary School, Minister Hastings-Williams recommitted government to working with them and other stakeholders to ‘make Baramita a better place.’

“We as a government, together with all stakeholders will continue to work with you to remedy that situation…You are a rich people, you have rich natural resources and a rich culture. We have to know what to do with the riches in order to make Baramita a nice place. It is in your hands.”

Meanwhile, Minister Sydney Allicock reminded that the government continues to provide support to villages all across the country, and assured that the administration will continue to assist in the transformation of Baramita.

“Over this past four years you have seen a number of changes, while it might be slow things are moving in the right direction,” Minister Allicock noted.

The minister said that the administration has been placing major emphasis on youth empowerment and development. This is evident with the 4,000 youths who received training under the Hinterland Employment and Youth Service Programme (HEYS), and the close to 2,000 businesses established. This programme will recommence by the end of 2019 to train another batch of hinterland youth.

Baramita is the largest Amerindian settlement in Guyana with a population of close to 4,000 people spread across the 22 satellite areas. Its main economic activities are mining and traditional hunting and farming.

Images: Leon Leung

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