Hon. Prime Minister Samuel Hinds inspired and charged fifty (50) graduands during the Hinterland Scholarship Closing Exercise held at the National Exhibition Centre, Sophia, Georgetown on July 3, 2013.

The Prime Minister advised the graduands to keep blossoming in their success and cautioned that everything takes time as he underscored the achievements of the students under the programme in past CSEC examinations.

“I am informed that in 2012, there are 362 total students under the programme (Regional=165, National=197,) which is an 8% increase from the 2011 total number of scholars. Out of this total, 324 are in Secondary and 38 are attending Technical Institutions,” said the Prime Minister.  According to him, the increase is evidence of the government’s commitment in improving the educational qualifications of Amerindian youngsters.

Moreover, Hon.  Minister Pauline Sukhai expressed satisfaction to the graduates whom she deemed richly endowed with culture and talent, in addition to their academic achievements.  Minister Sukhai also blessed everyone and said ‘’the horizons are limitless, but the scope of our students are restricted as soon as they return to the villages,’’ as she urged the graduates to serve their villages in various fields of work.

Ms. Rosamund Daly, Senior Welfare Officer, gave the highlights of the annual report which underscored, among others,  the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate students who wrote three hundred and fifty (350) subjects and gained 86% passes from (301) subjects with grades 1-3 in 2012. She noted that the first batch of 6 students under the programme came in 1963.

The program was marked by rendition of various songs, dances and poems performed by students who are presently on the scholarship programme.  The Police Steel Orchestra also performed several musical renditions and the students gave their reflections.

The Vote of Thanks was given by Laura Vandenburg of Skeldon Line Path Secondary and Mary Parker of St. Ignatius secondary.  The auspicious occasion was concluded with a song from the Graduates.

Kyle Joseph, one of the scholars and a student of Queen’s College, hosted the ceremony.

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MOAA launches YAEP; inducts apprentices in Region 1

“The participation of young people in development, governance and leadership develops the enterprises of this country,” thus proclaimed Hon. Minister Pauline Sukhai in front of 124 young enthusiasts from various villages in Region 1 who attended the historic launch of the Youth Apprenticeship and Entrepreneurship Programme (YAEP) on June 22, 2013 at the Santa Rosa Secondary School, Moruca.


The Minister made reference to LCDS and its thrust on investing in human resources as the key framework of the programme as she underscored the resolve of former president Bharrat Jagdeo “for young people to participate in the development of our country.” Likewise, the Minister emphasized what H.E. President Donald Ramotar has always indicated: that “Guyana’s development relies on the development of its human resources,” a reason why H.E. always referred to Japan as a model for human development.

Minister Sukhai highlighted that ”GOG realizes that the indigenous peoples of Guyana has suffered from a lot of neglect and marginalization,” thus the PPP/C government focuses on closing “the gaps existing at various levels.” The YAEP puts this “work into action,” she said.

The Minister pointed out that the concept of the YAEP is “to attach Community Support Officers to areas of their interest” and that during the following days “will seek to ensure that the CSOs acquire the competency they wish to develop”.  She added that the goal is for the CSOs to gain enough training and skills with respect to what they each want to achieve and when they are “detached from the MOAA they would be in a position to develop themselves as individuals,” through  entrepreneurship and creative activities geared towards green economy. 

Meanwhile, MoAA PS Nigel Dharamlall in a moving speech accented “today is a special occasion because it is a gathering of Amerindian young people engaged in a journey for development through direct participation.” According to him, the YAEP will mainstream and integrate young Amerindians in real governance, “a bottom-up” approach which best describes democracy. He urged the young participants to be committed to the programme as he stressed that “if we continue to follow the footsteps of our leaders, we’ll be progressive as a people.” 

Adding inspiration to the young people is Regional Chairman Paul Pierre who invited the participants to “prepare and take up these roles seriously.” The regional chairman stated that communities across the hinterland are developing and the challenges are becoming more and more technical, which is why the program will play a great part in developing and moving forward communities.

Also in attendance was Toshao Richard Cornelius of Santa Rosa who applauded the government initiative, urging the youth to “grab the opportunity” that will enable them to make valuable contribution to their community’s human resources.

In closing, Hermina Robinson, a representative of the youth from Matarcai and speaking on behalf of the participants expressed her appreciation for the opportunity given to them as CSOs. She asserted that YAEP will certainly contribute to the development of human capital in Amerindian villages.

The launch was attended by Toshaos and Village Councilors, villagers of Santa Rosa and nearby villages, and the MoAA staff.

YAEP aims to create employment, generate income, and develop the young population of the Hinterlands as leaders and entrepreneurs through attachments in various agencies/offices/services within the villages and respective regional government centers.

The induction and training of the apprentices was conducted on June 23 at the Santa Rosa Primary School.  Jude Silva, MoAA Project Coordinator, headed the team that conducted the induction and orientation of the participants.

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Region 1 Communities ink agreements to commence Community Development Projects

Hon. Pauline Sukhai affixes her signature as Toshao of Waicarabi looks on.

Seven communities of Region 1 signed agreements for their communities to commence receiving funding from the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF) for their Community Development Projects (CDPs) on the 10th and 11th of May, 2013. The legal representatives of the villages/communities, and Hon. Minister Pauline Sukhai signed the agreements.

The funds are Guyana’s earnings from the Norway and Guyana Memorandum of Understanding agreement that was signed in 2009 for maintaining its forest. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in collaboration with the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs (MOAA) will be disbursing funds for twenty seven communities in the first phase of the program.

The communities namely; Kamwatta, Waikareibi and Manawarin in the Moruca Sub Region, Barabina and Three Brothers in the Mabaruma Sub Region and Four Miles and Baramita in the Matakai Sub Region will all receive five million each for their respective CDPs.

The projects that will be financed are aquaculture, poultry rearing, village shop, farming, sustainable logging and bee keeping.
In delivering her remarks, the Honourable Minister Pauline Sukhai urged all villagers to be involved and to support the projects of their respective communities so that they can develop and achieve their goals. She further noted that the projects should not been seen as an individual project but a community undertaking that has support of village council, UNDP, MOAA and the Regional Democratic Council (RDC). She stated that the Government will continue to support and build capacities in hinterland communities and her expectations are for the projects to expand and become examples from which other villages can learn. She also cautioned that proper record keeping and management practices should be implemented.

In Barabina, Regional Chairman Paul Pierre stated he was happy for the commencement of the project and saw it as a fulfilment of a commitment of the government to enhance the livelihoods of Amerindian communities and assured the Toshaos that the RDC will be working along with their villages to ensure the projects are successful.
The UNDP Resident Coordinator, Khadija Musa, will affix her signature likewise to the agreements as she was not able to attend the signing ceremony.

Toshao of Kamwatta Ronald Benjamin accepts his agreement from Hon Pauline Sukhai.

Toshao of Barabina Roy Bennett signs agreement in the presence of Permanent Secretary MOAA Nigel Dharmalall, Project Coordinator (MOAA) Jude Da Silva, Region Chairman Paul Pierre and UNDP Community Development Facilitator Ronald Cumberbatch

Manawarin Toshao Alvin George signs agreement with  Hon. Minister Pauline Sukhai.

Toshao of Three Brothers signs agreement with Minister Pauline Sukhai

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ADF Scoping Mission Commences in Region 1

To ensure the readiness of Amerindian villages and communities for the initiation of their community projects financed under the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF) through the GRIF , the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs (MoAA) together with partner entity UNDP embarked on a scoping Mission for 8 villages/communities in Region 1 from April 17 to April 24.
Technical officers from the two lead implementing agencies and a group of technical experts from NAREI, Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), and Ministry of Agriculture’s Fisheries Department visited the sites of the various projects and advised farmers and villagers on the technical requisites of their projects.

MoAA staff explained the background of the projects that emanated from villagers since 2010; the process by which these projects were chosen by villagers and how these are now being funded through the LCDS. The UNDP officers meanwhile discussed possible financial mechanisms, the budgets for each project, record keeping, procurement plans and Monitoring and Evaluation. It must be recalled that on March 22-23 this year, the Toshaos of the 27 Villages chosen for the initial implementation of their Community Development Plans (CDPs) attended the ADF-GRIF launch and initiation seminar to officially start the implementation phase of the various economic project. $5M is allotted for each community/village under this project.

The villages/communities that were visited by the team include: Kamwatta ,Morucca (Hussar Production); Manawarin (Cassava Farming), Waikarebi (Sustainable Logging), Barabina (Poultry); Hobodeia (Ginger Farming), Three Brothers (Hussar Production); Baramita ( Village Shop); and Four Miles (Honey Production). The team met with villagers and village officials to discuss the projects.

The technical team is composed of:

MOAA: Renato Gonzales, Oragnisational Development Advisor and Kalima Ali, Project Officer

UNDP: Kenroy Roach, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer; Ronald Cumberbatch, Community Development Facilitator; and Gian Luca Nocera, Financial Expert

NAREI: Premdat Beecham, Agronomist

GLDA: Collin Bascomb, Livestock Development Officer

Fisheries Department: Raulston Gillette, Aquaculture Specialist


Regional Chairman Paul Pierre, also joined the team in the Morucca and Mabaruma visits, while AREO of Matarkai sub-region, Gerald Rodrigues accompanied the team in Baramita. Regional Officers of GLDA and NAREI likewise joined the group.


MoAA Community Development Officers were also part of the team and they facilitated the entire course of the scoping mission. The second wave of visits will be conducted in Region 9 next month.



Mr. Beecham from NAREI with Toshao of Manawarin and some villagers getting a sample of soil for testing.

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