President Ali announces 1,000-men programme to address issues facing men, boys

– senior joint services officers, sports personalities, businessmen, religious leaders to be part

His Excellency, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Sunday announced the 1000-men programme which will bring together  men from across Guyana, in a bid to frontally address the challenges faced by men and boys, and redirect them to their rightful place in society.

The consortium will be led by the president himself and will see officers of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ranking from Colonel and above, the Guyana Police Force (GPF), from the rank of Assistant Commissioner and above, 100 local sportsmen, 100 religious leaders, 100 male teachers, community workers, farmers and, entertainers being part of the unit.

“This 1,000-men programme is to reverse the strategy in dealing with the problems faced by young boys and men in our society. The mission of these 1,000 men is to work in every community to eradicate hunger, to work in every single community to lift those who are emotionally affected, and socially affected.

“It is to change every society and bring positive living and positive light to every single community. It is to work against violence, it is working to make men better, at being good men, responsible men, responsible boys, responsible youths in the society,” the president stated while addressing a Youman Nabi service at the Leguan Masjid.

Dr Ali said men from the highest societal level need to be involved.

“Because from within these organisations themselves we have to create a change, we have to create a positive mindset, a positive attribute. So, this is a major mission that we are launching all across the country,” he assured. 

A main aspect of the programme will see the initiation of a network of men that will address all issues, including violence against women and children. President Ali said it is only through that interaction that the social malady could be cured.

“Men in every community are on a mission to make a positive change. It is refocusing the thinking of men themselves, to understand that we have to be an active partner in making the changes we need in our society.

“We have to sit down and network. Men need to network across the country to understand violence against women, violence against children is not accepted and will not and cannot be accepted in our society. We can’t do this until we network together,” he stated resolutely.

The president said the men will be deployed to communities countrywide and will fully integrate every young person into the economic and social aspect of the country.

“Those who require training, are going to build a platform for them to get training. There will be no excuse for men to deliver on this responsibility and deliver on what is required of us to deliver to our families and people in our society.”

In a direct message to attendees of the day’s programme, Dr Ali stressed the need for people to understand the importance of the family of humanity. He said at the end of the day, people’s primary objective in life is to be good human beings.

To be a good human being, he said, requires some action, dealing with each other in a particular way.

“We are a beautiful country. We are one of few countries that have a very dynamic society. We are rich in religious heritage. We have the ability to take the message … Understanding that we have an important responsibility towards each other.

“You don’t need to be rich to smile at each other, you don’t need to be rich to be kind,” Dr Ali relayed.