Berbice youths cash in on million dollar cash grant
By Isaiah Braithwaite
DPI, Guyana, Friday, May 17, 2019
New Leaders for Social Betterment, a Youth Group from the village of Nurney on the Corentyne is on a mission to assist school dropouts through training. Janet Samuels, Chairperson of the group said the initiative was taken since the issue is a growing problem in some communities.
On Thursday a team, led by newly appointed Foreign Secretary Carl Greenidge and Presidential Advisor Dr. Mark Kirton, visited regions 5 and 6 and distributed cash grants to several groups. The groups are expected to use the monies to fund projects to develop their communities.
The New Leaders for Social Betterment Youth Group was one of the eight groups to benefit. Samuels said the money received will jumpstart their cash crop garden which will not only provide jobs.
Samuels also explained that the group will use the profits from the cash crops to “[move] on to a project where we will be having a skills training programme for young people and we will use that money to get somebody to lecture computer studies and have a night class for students who have dropped out from school.”
Over at Region 5, the Trafalgar Women on the Move group also received financial aid which they say will be used to empower women in the community. Secretary of the group Marcia London said the group was formed to assist young females by teaching sewing.
“We are going to start with uniforms and when it is not school time, we are going to do dresses, evening gowns, wedding sewing like bridal gowns and other dresses,” London explained.
Other groups that received cash grants include:
- Albion Chapple Library and Skills Training Centre
- Upper Class Community Developers
- California Macou Youth Association
- Young Adventurers Cash Crop Farmers Co-op Society
- Golden Grove/Union Cash Crop Farmers Association.
The grants are provided by the Ministry of Communities following a commitment made to the various groups. Each community will benefit from a total of one million dollars in cash and kind. A total of $1.3M was disbursed among the eight communities. The initial monies will go towards preparatory works for the various projects that will spur the creation of hundreds of jobs.
Foreign Secretary Greenidge making his first outing since his reassignment said that he hopes the grants will be able to make a difference within the communities. The Foreign Secretary said that while his Ministry was not directly involved in the cash grants disbursement, he was there “to ensure that the communities know that senior government officials are looking at their activities and also hearing from them what concerns or problems they have.”
Meanwhile, Presidential Advisor Dr. Mark Kirton said that the grants are an investment by the government in the development of the communities and its people. He also highlighted that it is an instalment towards ensuring all Guyanese enjoy the good life as promised by the governing Coalition.
“I think that when you look at things like raising standards of living, generating employment, this would form part of that activity so we are confident that these small projects, rapid impact projects will surely emerge and develop the communities” Dr. Kirton underscored.
Once the groups have utilized the monies received for its intended purpose, they will be receiving another disbursement of grants along with other assistance to complete their projects.
Images: Giovanni Gajie