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A call for participation in National Youth Week
Dear Editor,
Let me take this opportunity to thank you for publishing my letters whenever the space in your letter column presents itself. I am happy to ask once more that you publish this letter for the benefit of the Youth of Guyana. Guyana will celebrate 51 years as an independent nation on the 26th of May 2017. During the month of May, decades ago Guyanese looked forward to celebrating National Youth Week. It was a time to inspire our youth and celebrate their achievements.
During these years we saw the advent of the Guyana National Service, Guyana Defence Force, People’s Militia, and the National Youth Corps, our young people were being trained in technical and vocational skill areas, while with free Education from Nursery to University many pursued Secondary and Tertiary Education, at the Teachers Training College. Thousands of trained teachers were produced so too were doctors and nurses, lawyers and engineers.
However, Guyanese in our quest to own and control our natural resources, through our Government of the day undertook a policy of nationalization. This angered the capitalists resulting in Guyana being sanctioned by the international financial institutions, resulting in the devaluation of the Guyana dollar. What happened next is that the majority of those trained young people migrated to Europe, North America and the Caribbean where the dollar was stronger as against the Guyana dollar. This brain drain was responsible for the slow pace of development over the last fifty years; our commodities for export was valued against a weak Guyana dollar.This sorely undermined our nation’s development.
We were being trained to develop these countries we migrated to, at the expense of the tax payers of this country. With the production of oil commencing shortly, the increase of gold production, the housing drive and the diversification of our economy, training of our young people to take up jobs that will soon be available is of utmost importance.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Department is spearheading the reintroduction of National Youth Week slated for the Sunday 21st to Saturday 27th of May 2017 with the Theme; “Inspiring our Youth, Celebrating their achievements. On Sunday the 21st of May 2017 a Military and Paramilitary Parade will be staged in Georgetown to remember our young people who stood in defense of our territorial integrity and internal security for the last 51 years.
On Wednesday the 24th of May a Career Exposition and Health Fair will be staged at the National Park Thomas Road, Thomas Lands Georgetown, at this event all organizations, institutions, schools, agencies and individuals that are involved in training young people in technical, vocational and entrepreneurial skill areas are expected to occupy booths to be provided by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport to disseminate information, demonstrate their work and receive application from prospective students.
Parents and guardians are asked to encourage young people to visit the event and get the requisite information to ensure their participation in a program of their choice. An unattached, unskilled, unqualified youth will be left on the sideline to look on while others who are trained will receive the benefits that come with their training. His Excellency President David Arthur Granger and The Honorable Nicolette Henry Minister of Education, Culture Youth and Sport are very passionate about young people getting the necessary training to elevate themselves, their communities and the nation as a whole. We are all in this together. Let us put aside our differences and do what is right to ensure we experience that promised good life that comes as a reward for our collective efforts to transform our economy.
RAS Aaron Blackman
Social Worker/ Youth Officer
Department of Youth
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