Medical and security team unite at special confab in Berbice

Jun 29, 2013 News

A confabulation specifically meant to bring the security and health sectors together, was held at the University of Guyana Berbice Campus (UGBC) this past week.
Attending were medical students attached to Fordham University in New York, part of the team ‘DreamCatchers’, and senior ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

Participants of the confab at UGBC: Medical students; senior ranks of the GPF; Prof. Samad and UGBC Admin Officer, Mr. Cort.

Director of UGBC, Professor Daizal R. Samad noted, “What we‘ve done is an attempt to facilitate these students from New York to explore areas where we can engage one another.”
He added that the job of the police force is to serve and protect without fear or favour and “medicine… Their job is to alleviate suffering and illnesses wheresoever they may be found.”
He said that it seems a logical step to put the health and healthcare delivery sector together with the Guyana Police Force “because we are serving the same purpose in different ways.”
UGBC’s role, he stated, is to facilitate the education of the nation. He noted that one major problem, is that people tend to compartmentalize education in Guyana.
“We don’t see the holistic picture that it is connected—you interfere with one and the rest come apart, so by bringing you all together, I hope you can have a fruitful discussion and see ways how you can connect up.”
DreamCatchers has been visiting Guyana over the past four years at the behest of the Association of Bible Churches in Guyana and holding medical outreaches all across the country. So far, they have visited all the hospitals in Guyana. They also visited Edinburgh, Wakenaam, Mahaica and St. Cuthbert’s Mission yesterday to distribute medical items.
The team comprises Jessica Geer, Robert Rock, Omashwari Antooa, Melissa Buchan, Anesha Narain and their local on-the-ground coordinator, Pastor Shawn Geer.
At the UGBC confab, a health fair has been planned for today on the UGBC tarmac. According to Geer, an informative session involving 30 members of the police force will begin at 10:00 hrs and this will be followed by the health fair whereby members of the public can visit and have various medical tests carried out.
At the confab, too, it was discussed with the police how they can deal with mentally-ill persons as well as persons with heart diseases, whom they may come in contact with (whether in prisons, on the streets, in court) from time to time.
Acting Commander of ‘B’ Division, Senior Superintendent Calvin Brutus and Assistant Superintendent Terrence Brown represented the GPF at the confab.