Thea in Guyana

Mabaruma, Region 1

December 14, 2010 at 2:46 pm Leave a comment

My first expedition outside of Georgetown, and it was fantastic. I found out at the beginning of last week that I had been invited to attend the Secure Livelihoods National Volunteer programme’s annual review in Mabaruma, Region 1. Having only been here a couple of weeks, this was an amazing opportunity for me, what a lucky girl!

Travelling up in a teeny weeny little plane was a thrill in itself. Surprisingly steady going and sitting next to pilot made it all the more fantastic (and pleasurable!). It was like arriving in a completely different country. The relief is so different to that on the Eastern coast, it was a truly thought provoking experience. So so so beautiful, I had never been to the rainforest before its really a humbling experience.

The challenges faced in Georgetown and the coastal regions in comparison to those that are faced here, are almost incomprehensibly different. This experience highlighted to me the importance of regional outreach within the development programmes taking place within Guyana, and the role needed within the advocacy work I will be doing to promote the value volunteerism can add at a community level to national development within the interior of Guyana.

I spent the first of the two days I was in Mabaruma with Jinky another VSO volunteer, who showed me around the community and introduced me to key figures involved in local volunteerism. Meeting with the Regional Education Officer, and the Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council was really interesting, and enabled me to gain a more advanced perspective of how they view volunteerism at a more strategic level for the development of education systems and communities (a number of the National Volunteering Teacher’s Programme volunteers work out of this region). They also highlighted to me the challenges that they face with regard to the concept of volunteerism within communities, and how perspectives need to change in order for it to be a meaningful mechanism to support community development.

I also met with a number of local community groups as well as the individual volunteers to understand why and how they are involved in the volunteering process. These meetings were really important for me. When working with CSOs and the Ministry in Georgetown, having a deeper understanding of the regional context from those working in the voluntary sector at the grass roots level will really strengthen my ability to put forward their ideas for how to support regional volunteerism.

For an example of the type of volunteer activity taking place in Region 1, please take a look at this video of Leah Moses, at the North West Computer Institute in Mabaruma. Set up by a Peace Corps Volunteer, this organisation continues on a voluntary basis to support the development of computer and IT skills within members of the local community.

Entry filed under: Uncategorized.