Single mother lauds HEYS
─ 52 more HEYS grants distributed in Reg. 8
─ Min. Garrido-Lowe encourages HEYS participants to engage in ecotourism
DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, May 14, 2019
“I am very thankful for my [HEYS] grant and I know that my business will be successful… I am a single parent and it is really helping me a lot with my child”, Fabianna Duran explained.
Duran, a young mother, hails from Monkey Mountain and championed the Hinterland Employment Youth Service (HEYS) programme as a beacon of hope for the business she has launched. Her business includes cattle rearing, gardening and the selling of beverages.
As she accepted the grant, Duran expressed her renewed confidence in the enterprise she spearheads, stating “I know that my business is going to be successful”.
She is one of the 52 young people who have recently received grants from the HEYS programme.
Arisa Peters is another young woman who has developed her cattle rearing small business. Peters told the Department of Information (DPI), “I know this grant will make my business more successful by having more animals”.
Meanwhile, HEYS grant recipient Amia Edwin who operates a snackette in Monkey Mountain noted: “I do not know who came up with this idea of HEYS, but [it] was really thoughtful of them… I will have to push forward and make sure it [snackette business] is successful.”
The HEYS programme provides an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs to move their businesses from conceptualisation to actualisation. Another beneficiary, Dexter Stanislaus remarked: “My business is growing, and we have been trying a lot of times where we can face our challenges, but since this HEYS programme took place, I understand what is business and I would like to have my business growing.”
Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe coordinated the award of HEYS grants. Minister Garrido-Lowe encouraged the recipients to capitalise on ecotourism in their villages to facilitate job creation. To this end, the minister offered to train recipients as Tour Guides should they need the training, to develop the ecotourism sector in their villages.
“We can empower you. We can build your capacity. We can help you get the knowledge, the teachings you need so that you can create a job for yourself,” Minister Garrido-Lowe remarked.
To expand the HEYS programme’s reach, Region 8’s HEYS Monitor Kurt Perreira advised residents of Monkey Mountain, Paramakatoi, Tusening and Taruka, who are not HEYS grant awardees, to submit their business’ names to be considered for the HEYS grant. “If we have missed out anyone and you have a business that [we] can see, we can add your name to that list [of businesses].”
Of the 141 participants in the HEYS programme that reside in Region 8 (Potaro-Siparuni), 30 grants were recently awarded in Paramakatoi, 4 in Tusening and 9 in Taruka and Monkey Mountain respectively. This totals 52 new grants under the empowerment programme for the region.
In keeping with the Coalition Government’s commitment towards enhancing the livelihoods of Guyanese youth and to reduce the disparity that may exist between the coast and the hinterland, the HEYS programme has been designed to be one that brings relief. The flagship programme has trained about 4,000 hinterland youth, leading to the creation of more than 2,000 small businesses. Since the launch of the programme, more than $2B has been invested by the APNU+AFC Government into hinterland youth empowerment.
Shaquille Bourne.
Images: Tejpaul Bridgemohan.