Victory Valley Youths benefit from empowerment workshop

Youths of Victory Valley, Linden, Region Ten were today exposed to a youth Empowerment workshop, conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and other partners.

The initiative is part of the government’s efforts to improve the livelihood of residents especially the youths.

Minister, Hugh Todd reiterated the government’s commitment to fostering development.

“We want to make sure that we are not here just to talk but to interact and to work with you here in the community,”  Todd said.

He noted that last year following the resurfacing of the hard court, “We made a promise at that time, once completed we are not going to just move away, we are going to keep coming and we are going to keep engaging with the residents and the youths in the community because we want to have a long lasting partnership.”

Todd also spoke of the President’s One Guyana initiative which aims to foster unity and inclusivity, where every citizen will be given equal opportunities and benefit from the country’s advancement.

“You here in Victory Valley, you are part of the One Guyana initiative because it covers the length and breadth of this country,” he reiterated.

The minister noted that emphasis is also being placed on the youths because they will be the future leaders.

“Because you have to be able to provide continuity for us, we would not be here perpetually or forever, I use to be a kid just like you, listening to people like myself, now I’m here doing the same thing, so there’s continuity in how we grow and develop as a nation and we have to invest in you, we have to, it’s important for us to invest in your education, invest in your healthcare and invest in community development.

“We want to be continuous, we want to be friends, we want to be partners, we want to be here with you, to listen to you and to watch you grow and develop,” the minister said.

The Annual Easter Basketball tournament will be held on Sunday, April 2, and Minister Todd said the decision was made to include an empowerment workshop this year, to the benefit of the youths.

“You can be anything you want to be once you work hard and you’re disciplined and you put your mind to it, you can do it, it doesn’t matter where you are coming from, it doesn’t matter your circumstances at this time, you can make it. We’ve all had our trials, we’ve all had our challenges and if we can make it, you can make it,”  Todd encouraged. Chief Investment Officer of Guyana Invest, Dr. Peter Ramsaroop, and several others also made presentations at the workshop.