New project!

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been sponsoring a young adult training course in Aishalton since July. The course is designed to help prevent young people from being trafficked. Human trafficking is a problem in Guyana, particularly for the vulnerable Amerindian populations. I am working with a local staff, Renata, to train 12 young people during an 8 week course. The course will run repeatedly for different groups for almost two years. We are hoping to train over 90 youths in our region. In the course, young people are learning a variety of skills: professional skills, business skills, time management, job skills, computer skills, and language skills (Wapishana and Portuguese). They are also learning about their rights: human rights, indigenous people’s rights, labor rights, and about self-reflection, confidence, and public speaking.

Here are a number of fun projects we are working on during the course:

Bow and arrow shooting

Making a resume and bringing it to a practice ‘job interview’

Group presentations about power and rights

Typing speed competitions

Writing short stories in Wapishana

Weaving local palms into baskets

Setting up an email account and learning to chat

Making a plan for a small business and learning to keep its ‘accounts’

Learning Amerindian history

We are currently in our third course, we have 11 trainees, they are pictured below.

This particular group consists mainly of youth from other villages, so they only knew a few other people when they came. They were a little hesitant at first, but after the first two weeks, their personalities are starting to shine and friendships are blooming. The course demands quite a bit of group and partner work, unlike school here. For many, it is the first time they are learning their own history, their rights, and their potential. It has been a very rewarding project for me to work with. Not only have my own computer skills and time management improved, so has my own self-understanding. In addition, the course provides such immediate and visible improvement in people’s lives. This, in my experience, is not a customary occurrence in development work. So, to go along with the thankful theme, I am thankful to be working with this course and for its impact on the young people.