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Guyana gets USAID support to fight crime at youth level
… five at-risk communities targetted
Guyana will soon benefit from support provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Programme, to target five at-risk communities across
Finance Minister Winston Jordan (left) signing the MoU with USAID Mission Director, Christopher Cushing, in the company of other USAID officials.
the country.
The communities which will benefit from this project are Corriverton, Lodge, East La Penitence, East Ruimveldt and Sophia. This was explained by Finance Minister, Winston Jordan.
Jordan signed a Memorandum of Understanding yesterday in the Ministry’s boardroom with USAID Mission Director, Christopher Cushing. The programme is a US$64M initiative which targets countries in the Caribbean.
The Minister said that the local communities were chosen following studies which showed they had the highest representation of high risk behaviours such as incarceration, high levels of youth involvement in crime, teenage pregnancy, youth unemployment, high numbers of dropouts and a significant use of drugs among others.
He said that the YES programme is designed to reduce youth involvement in crime and violence in 10 Caribbean countries. According to Jordan, Guyana was chosen to be one of the three focus group countries together with St. Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis.
Jordan explained that this intervention will build on the work done under the Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment (SKYE) precursor programme. This programme, he said, had assisted in creating alternative opportunities for young people who were at risk of being involved in a life of crime and violence.
“That programme also contributed to the juvenile justice system through a support programme that provided alternatives to youths who had committed minor offences.”
He said that this is premised on the fact that more than 35 per cent of Guyana’s population falls between the 15 and 35 age cohorts. Jordan said that it is government’s belief that young people must be allowed to participate in their own development trajectory.
According to Jordan, the YES programme is expected to improve institutional and technical capacity within government agencies, civil society, non-governmental organisations as well as stakeholders in selected communities to reduce the risks that fuel youth crimes, violence and discrimination.
Meanwhile, Cushing said in his brief remarks that the MoU will govern the formalisation of the YES project that was launched under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, which aims to create a safer and prosperous Caribbean Community.
He said, “Working together with regional bodies, the government of Guyana and community stakeholders, the YES Project will strengthen protective factors that build youth resilience, reduce crime and violence, while also reducing those that influence them in becoming perpetrators or victims of crime and violence.”
According to Cushing, this project will lead to more resilient youths, families and communities. He said that the project uses a community-centred and public health model for crime and violence prevention, to identify, analyse and support project interventions.
Cushing explained that the project will use data to understand where and why crime and violence is happening. He added that the programme will also support juvenile justice reform. He said that YES will also focus on broader community engagement and positive youth development.
As a result of the programme, Cushing said that there will be an increase in local and national services to respond to a variety of social development needs. These services, he said, will include individual and family counselling, therapy, internships and job placements.
He said that the YES project is driven by an evidence-based approach, as evidence is used to develop the appropriate strategy for Guyana. Further, Cushing said that the evaluation of these strategies will serve to inform investments made by the US government.
“The project’s success will depend on partnerships created with diverse stakeholders working towards common goals. This includes engaging youth as positive change makers, working with ministries and other government agencies, business leaders, law enforcement, the justice sector, training institutions, the media, community-based organisations and others, because after all, it takes a village.”
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