New Day & Night Care Centre linked to government’s poverty reduction strategy – Pres Ali

A new $93.8 million Day and Night Care and Early Childhood Development Centre has opened its doors in Anna Catherina, Region Three, ushering in a new era of opportunity for working parents and a direct investment in the fight against poverty.

It is the first of several such 24-hour care facilities to be constructed countrywide in the coming years. The next one will be built in Region Four at a cost of $94 million.

Commissioning the facility, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali explained how the construction of these day and night care centres is integrally linked to the government’s push to reduce poverty.

The president said this investment aims to give women who have stayed at home to care for their children the economic opportunities they have missed.

“We’ve all grown up in different homes, but under similar circumstances where we’ve seen mothers struggle to achieve education if they ever had the opportunity…Today, we have been able to invest in the system, so much so that the majority of opportunities are taken up by women and mothers,” he said.

President Ali mentioned that this facility will empower residents who use it.

“Today’s initiative is about empowerment, giving parents who never had the opportunity to explore the professional possibilities…It’s about building equity in the system,” the president explained.

He said his administration will work to ensure that facilities like these can be found in every Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) countrywide.

Meanwhile, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud highlighted that the facility will provide a high level of care for the children there.

“[The facility provides] flexible care for parents, and it’s looking at care that is purposeful, tangible, and care that takes into account the growing needs of the world,” she noted.

For the first time in Guyana’s history, some $334 million has been invested to enhance early childhood education, reaffirming the PPP/C government’s commitment to the development of the nation’s children.