US Air Force Sergeants proud to be giving back to their homeland
DPI, Guyana, Friday, June 14, 2019
There are not many persons who get the opportunity to give back to their home country after leaving as child. That is the story of overseas based Guyanese Sergeants Allen Headley and Marlon McCoy of the United States Air Force.
Headley and McCoy are members of the New Horizons 2019 team, working on the construction of a women’s shelter in Region 10 for abused women. The shelter is expected to provide a safe space for women who are victims of domestic violence.
Sergeant Headley speaking to the Department of Public Information (DPI), exclusively, said that he left Guyana for the US in the 1990s. The structural engineer working directly on the construction of the building said, “it is privilege to serve in the US military and be able to come back home and serve the people of Guyana, this is great for me.”
He said that it is a great opportunity especially since it has been a while since he has been on home soil. Whenever there is free time, Sergeant Headley said he “will try to make the best of the opportunity to enjoy the Guyanese people, the atmosphere, the community, the food especially.”
As for Sergeant McCoy who is an electrical engineer, he left the land of many waters when he was a mere 10 years old. Sergeant McCoy related that he is proud to be playing an instrumental role on a project that is going to make a positive impact on the lives of women.
He said giving back to his home “is a blessing and a dream come through. It is something that I have always hoped to do, so it has been a pleasure.”
Even though the team works six days a week on the project which is slated for September completion, Sergeant McCoy said his stay “has been outstanding, thank God for the hospitality, thank God for the warm greetings, the feeling of coming home never leaves you. Guyanese people are Guyanese people.”
New Horizons is an annual U.S. Southern Command training and humanitarian exercise that is led by the Twelfth Air Force (Air Forces Southern) in various countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Images: Marceano Narine