Region Nine CSOs laud Government for restarting programme

– welcome opportunity for development

The Government has come in for high praise from Community Support Officers (CSOs) in several Amerindian villages for restarting the CSO programme, which has provided them with opportunities for personal growth, training and jobs.

The Government reintroduced the programme soon after taking office in August 2020, and to date, 2, 000 individuals between the ages of 16-40, from Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine have benefited.

Speaking with DPI, 30-year-old Ms. Felecia Roberts, a Yupukari CSO with the responsibility for Education and Governance, said the programme has put her worries to rest as she is now able to provide for her family.

“I was not doing anything in the community but farming and trying my best to help my children who are going to school. I have one that is going to Annai Secondary, and I was worried how I was going to support my son going to school, but now I have the opportunity to [do so] as a CSO.”

Ms. Felicia Roberts, Community Support Officer (CSO) of Yupukari village

Ms. Roberts said the programme has also allowed her to experience and learn new things, all while serving her community. She’s grateful too, that it has enabled her to open many doors for others.

“I am very thankful to this Government for being in power now because the previous Government did not give me this opportunity to work as a CSO or HEYS [Hinterland Employment and Youth Service’, but I am very thankful that this Government is looking at helping the Amerindian people,” she added.

Mr. Harold Dorrick, 23, Quatata CSO with the responsibility for Sport and Agriculture, said he joined the programme after being unemployed for some time.

“I was working along with some rice farmers in Brazil for five years and since the COVID-19 pandemic happened, they returned to Guyana or I should say the Rupununi.

Mr. Harold Dorrick, Community Support Officer (CSO) of Quatata village

I was doing nothing in the village for six months and so as long I was not doing anything in the village, I decided to take part in the CSO programme,” he explained.

Mr. Dorrick thanked the Government for resuscitating this programme, noting that his experiences as a CSO will one day help him to become a leader in his village.

“I think that it is very good. As we started, we have to begin to work with the village leader and I think that it is going to be okay and so in one year, I think that I would be a good leader of the future,” he said.

Another Quatata CSO, 24-year-old Ms. Reenca Cornelius, said the CSO programme helped to buttress her after her plans to become a volunteer health worker in Region Seven fell through. The woman said she decided to return home and was able to take advantage of the opportunity to train as a CSO. Ms. Cornelius said she hopes to be able to access more training through the programme to assist in the development of her community.

Ms. Reenca Cornelius, Community Support Officer (CSO) of Quatata village

In October 2020, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs started training their CSOs in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The beneficiaries were selected from 46 communities for the wider CSO programme under the Ministry’s Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme (YEAP). The remaining 213 hinterland villages are expected to benefit from this training later on in the year.

The youth will also be trained in other specialised areas based on the needs of their communities which include agriculture, tourism, governance and others.

The CSO programme forms part of the Government’s commitment to youth development, advancement and investment in the lives of Amerindian peoples. It was conceptualised and launched in 2014.  The Coalition Government later replaced it with the HEYS.