Leaving Guyana…
My time in Guyana has come to an end. I have had the most incredible year, having shared and also learned in so many different ways. I’d like to end my time by asking for those who can, to support VSO to continue doing amazing work by making a small donation. If anyone would like to talk to me about VSO and what they do, please get in touch. Thea xx
Please donate on this page: http://www.justgiving.com/Thea-in-guyana
Young people strengthening volunteering…
I’ve talked previously on this blog about the power of young people in Guyana to shape their societies, and effect change in a positive way… I just wanted to share with you two short projects that I have recently supported that are really nice practical examples of young people showing leadership in working to strengthen the voluntary sector in Guyana.
National Volunteer Teacher’s Program – Alumni Program
A passion to support the development of Guyana’s National Volunteer Teacher’s Program (NVTP) has seen a group of NVTP graduates come together with Youth Challenge Guyana (the coordinating NGO) and establish an Alumni program. The aim of the Alumni will be to support the NVTP in achieving its aims and objectives, but more broadly to support youth development in Guyana. The Alumni hopes to promote youth development through volunteering and develop volunteering initiatives at the community level.
Young Voices Guyana HIV and AIDS awareness and Peer Education
This workshop saw youth volunteers from the field of HIV/AIDS prevention and the disability rights youth movement work together in partnership to deliver a prevention and awareness training for members of the Young Voices disability advocacy group. Peer Education as a means of responding to HIV/AIDS was a highlight of the training with the possibility of Young Voices Guyana setting up a Peer Education group discussed. The aim would be to build the capacity of its members to deliver similar sessions to the wider disabled youth community.
Advocacy for Volunteerism in Guyana: VSO National Volunteering
An article I wrote for the CIDA Guyana best practice newsletter – gives a nice outline of some of the work I have been doing in relation to VSO’s National Volunteering Programme.
Enjoy!
VSO Guyana’s CIDA funded National Volunteering (NV) Programme works to promote, develop and strengthen local and national volunteering in Guyana with the goal of fighting poverty and disadvantage. In line with the International Year of Volunteers +10 (IYV+10), 2011 is a year of action for the voluntary community in promoting the value and importance of volunteerism in achieving Guyana’s development goals. The NV Programme is committing significant resources to this aim in order to support successful advocacy processes that deliver meaningful change for the voluntary sector.
Since the inception of IYV+10 the NV programme has been involved in a number of successful advocacy initiatives. With VSO’s support, last year’s International Volunteers Day (IVD) (December 2010) activities were focused on promoting the value of volunteering. Projects included an essay competition, an exhibition on Volunteerism and the Millennium Development Goals, a volunteer ‘stories’ magazine, and a march through the streets of Georgetown. In February this year, Volunteerism was celebrated for the first time as a part of the capital’s annual Mashramani parade. This saw over 200 volunteers from 27 organisations that work in areas from youth empowerment to disability rights coming together to promote and highlight the strength of volunteerism in Guyana. These activities have seen a marked increase in partnership working between voluntary organisations. This includes increased participation in the IYV+10 National Coordinating Committee which has consequently set a more solid and inclusive foundation for future advocacy work.
Strong relationships have also been built between the voluntary sector and the government of Guyana. VSO has encouraged and supported the Ministry of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation to show continued commitment in hosting the IYV+10 coordinating committee and providing human resources for the coordination of a number of activities. The Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport (MCYS) is also showing increased enthusiasm for strengthening volunteerism, for example by agreeing with VSO to part-fund the Mashramani activities. With view to enhancing local ownership and sustainability, the NV Programme is presently developing a partnership agreement with the MCYS to establish ongoing commitment to volunteerism. This agreement will include a pledge to support the development of a National Volunteerism Support Platform, and also the hosting of a National Conference on Volunteerism for Guyana’s Development in December.
June saw the launch of a Lecture Series on Volunteerism, culture, society and development, coordinated by VSO, UNV and the University of Guyana, saw a stimulating discussion on Volunteerism and National Identity. Led by high caliber speakers and attended by the Prime Minister of Guyana, representatives from the public, private and voluntary sectors as well many volunteers, the event clearly reflected the value of, and interest in, volunteerism across society. A strong momentum has been set for forthcoming lectures which will be delivered throughout 2011.
Moving forward, a core objective for the NV programme is to support the continued development of an enabling environment for volunteering in Guyana. Strategies include promoting volunteerism through the writing of relevant polices and the creation of the National Volunteer Support Platform. In 2010 research into volunteering and the feasibility of establishing a volunteer support platform was done as a partnership between UNV, VSO and MCYS. Later this year this report will be formally launched. The aim is to promote observance of the study recommendations across the volunteer community. To ensure that the research findings are taken forward in a sustainable way a consultative group, coordinated by VSO, has been formed consisting of members from public, voluntary and private sectors. In addition, two VSO volunteer placements are committed to advocating for and establishing the Platform. Further initiatives in progress aim to build the capacity of organisations to influence change through volunteering. This includes the writing and dissemination of a cross-sector guidance document on managing volunteers, as well as internationally recognised training on Volunteer Management Systems and Programme Development to be coordinated by VSO and delivered in 2012.
Valuing volunteering
A recent call by UK MPs for a rethink of David Cameron’s flagship National Citizen Service scheme has come at an interesting time for volunteer service initiatives internationally.
The United Nations International Year of Volunteers+10 and the European Commission’s European Year of Volunteers are currently being used to drive global policy development in support of volunteering as a tool for both national, community and personal development. Just last week I attended an international seminar on ‘Volunteering in the EU and the Caribbean’, which aimed to promote and develop youth service initiatives through global learning and partnership building.
As such, the MPs call for a rethink of National Citizen Service in the UK has raised some important questions.
Volunteering in Europe and the Caribbean
This month I coordinated a youth delegation to attend a youth seminar on volunteering in Europe as the Caribbean. This was as a part of my work to support and promote local volunteerism in Guyana. Three young people who work with the youth development organisations, Volunteer Youth Corps Inc. and Youth Challenge Guyana traveled to Guadeloupe (with me) to contribute to regional and international learning on this topic. The Regional Youth Council in Guadeloupe hosted the seminar, and facilitated attendance from a range of organisations including regionally, the Young Men’s Christian Association in Trinidad, and the Youth Council Association in St. Maartin, as well as international counterparts such as the Youth Council of Paris, and the German Youth Sports Association. 
The aim of the seminar was to build capacity in the youths involved, build international partnerships, and also to promote volunteerism as a positive means of development and empowerment for young people. Seminar workshops included: volunteering in sport; volunteering as a tool for integration; promoting youth action; and discussing the economic dimension of volunteerism in the Caribbean.
We also got to see a lot of the island, which was really interesting. So different from the Enlglish speaking Caribbean which I’m used to, as a French department you could certainly see strong national identity links with France. The landscape was beautiful too, with the volcano La Soufrière towering above the Western part of the island, and paradise like beaches on the East there was a lot to take in. I’d love to go back.
Next steps for the youth delegates is to provide information, knowledge transfer and be youth volunteerism champions to the public and voluntary sector. When reflecting on the seminar I hope to hold a number of dissemination events, including a presentation to the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport and to the Consultative Group working to develop a Volunteer Support Platform in Guyana.
Thinking local? look global
Guyanese civil society is presently engaging with the questions about the reform of voluntary and community sector legislation. This legislation is at an early stage of development. As a result, many people here are looking for answers from other countries as much as from the internal debate.
A recent post I have written on the Involve website makes the case that the UK should be doing the same as the Government considers the repeal of the Duty to Involve. Read the full article here.
West Indies ‘vs’ Pakistan – 5th ODI
A fabulous win by the West Indies – 10 Wickets – set for a particularly memorable first cricket match in Guyana.
Young voices shaping society
My recent experiences in ‘the land of many waters’ have taken me on a fascinating journey; from the first ever involvement of civil society organisations in Guyana’s Republic Day celebrations, to researching community participation within the highest village of the least accessible region of Guyana. During this period of discovery, my eyes have been opened to an increasingly significant form of participation; participation led by young voices.
It is 40 years since the Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding between People. The merits of youth participation have been increasingly recognised by many different people in Guyana in the intervening years. In parallel, at the national level in Guyana, there has been an increase in civil society organisations, including Community Based Organisations (CBOs), which have provided opportunities for youth to organise themselves and have their voices heard. However, despite these efforts, youth participation in Guyana is low. There seems to be a lack of understanding by decision-makers, at the local, regional and national level, of the assets of young people in particular regarding their involvement in decisions and policies that affect them.
Read my latest blog for Involve which further explores the global public participation of young people here.
National Volunteer Teachers
Schools in the interior of Guyana face a significant shortage of teachers. As a result, the choices and opportunities afforded by completing primary and secondary education are highly reduced. In response to this difficult, and enduring situation the National Volunteer Teacher Program was formed througha partnership the Ministry of Education, Youth Challenge Guyana and Voluntary Service Overseas. The program seeks to increase the number of teachers available during the school year in interior locations in Guyana, as well as encouraging young people across Guyana to see the value, and reward in the profession of teaching. Volunteers are recruited from around the country to spend one school year working primarily with grades 1 – 9 and to a lesser extent grades 10 – 12.
The recruitment process positively engages with volunteers originally from the interior of Guyana so as to promote a sustainable model for the education system that supports the participation of this harder to reach group. The aim is to encourage future teachers who have an intrinsic motivation to improving the education system within the interior of the country, with the consequence of retaining skilled teachers within more remote communities. Importantly, volunteer teachers also aid and impact communities in a variety of ways – from community gardening projects to cricket clubs – further improving the lives of the children they mentor and teach. Here are some of the 2011 teachers that I have worked with.
Travelling through the interior of Guyana
Some examples of how different the interior is to Georgetown, but also, how different it is region by region.
Thea in Guyana 