Youth Exposition and Volunteer Fair- “Volunteerism adds immense value to your country’s economic output” US Ambassador

DPI, GUYANA, Wednesday, July 26, 2017

A Youth Exposition and Volunteer Fair, was hosted Wednesday by the US’s Youth Action Network and Youth Ambassadors 2015, at the Umana Yana.

Six Guyanese secondary school students completed the United States Government annual three-week Youth Ambassadors Programme (YAP) in 2015. Youth Ambassador, Ashraf Dabie said since the programme, he has been inspired to make a difference in Guyana. “We were educated, given skills and knowledge and we were inspired to impact change in Guyana”.

The six Ambassadors have since implemented four projects locally; the “student development program”, which was rolled out at Hope Secondary and West Demerara Secondary Schools in August, 2015, the “Opt for Youth Summer Programme” in August 2016, where 35 young Guyanese benefitted and the “Emerging Leaders of Guyana” programme which sought to bridge the gap between high school students and tertiary students.

The Youth Exposition and Volunteer fair, the fourth project, seeks to share the volunteer group’s work, the Guyana Youth and Social Entrepreneurship programme.

United States Ambassador Perry Holloway noted that, “Volunteerism adds immense value to your country’s economic

output.” He further said that the, “US Embassy will continue to play our part to empower young people through our youth development initiatives” which include the Youth Ambassador Program, the Youth Action Network, and the Youth Empowerment Service (or YES Programme).

Ambassador Holloway congratulated the “outstanding works of all the youth organizations,” and pointed out that the work that “you all do on a continuous basis have an immeasurable impact on the lives of others”.

The Ambassador also expressed profound gratitude to the Ministry of Education, Department of Youth Culture and Sports, the National Sports Commission and the Master Class Institute.

Commending the Youth Ambassadors for their projects, the Ministry of Education, Youth Culture, and Sports, Director of Youth Melissa Carmichael said, “that being young and in leadership is no easy task also the road to success is never really an easy one.”

Carmichael encouraged the volunteers’ organisations to work in collaboration with the Department of Youth, Since our mandate is closely the same, “Youth development and youth advancement for all,” adding that The Department of Youth “is ready and willing to lend our support whenever needed and further seek to develop a closer relationship with this body to ensure that greater impacts are made.”

The launching of this new initiative the Guyana Youth and Social Entrepreneurship Program, will kick start International Youth Day August 12, 2017. Carmichael  said, “I urge you to ensure it is a great success for all young people and that they are left motivated and encouraged after your intervention.”

MATHGURU is one group which is helping students with one-on-one sessions, and a mathematics app for cellphones. Dakarai Griffth, Volunteer of MATHGURU said, “Math is very important to the development of society, if you look at the age of enlightenment in the fifteenth century coming up to the industrial revolution, it was the mathematics principle that led to the technological world we live in here today, so we need that foundation in our students.”

There was also the Youth Education Society which is seeking to help orphan children with reading and language skills. The Street Harassment project is also a major project, which seeks to reduce street harassment, by educating members of the society.