Georgetown, Guyana – (May 19, 2018)The Ministry of the Presidency’s Department of Social Cohesion, today, hosted another sensitisation workshop aimed at creating linkages and helping Guyanese at the community level to better understand social cohesion as an approach to community and national development. Technical Officer, Ms. Olive Gopaul, facilitated the workshop, which was held at the Craig Primary School, East Bank Demerara.
Today’s workshop is the second of its nature in the Good Success/ Caledonia area coming out of a ground enhancement project, which was proposed by the resident’s in 2017. Ms. Gopaul said that the Department is pleased with the attendance at the session, which grew out of the previous outreach exercise. “What we are trying to do at the community level is to engage the citizens in projects… You conduct sensitisation programs and then there is no activity to bring them back into. At Social Cohesion we ensure that they are constantly engaged so that we can continue to keep the programs active within communities,” she said
One resident, Mr. Michael Pereira, during interactive discussions, lauded the Department’s work in the community and the overall vision for social cohesion. He urged the residents to fully participate, noting that real development cannot be achieved amidst division. “We need to make good use of every opportunity to be involved in the cultural activities that are facilitated by religious organisations, Government, none religious organisations et cetera… I believe that what Social Cohesion is doing is what the church and every other organisation ought to be doing and supporting… There is a lot of common ground that we can seek out to form a better society,” he said
Ms. Shermin Blair, Midwife at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and Resident of the Good Success/ Caledonia Neighbourhood implored community members gathered to become agents of change. “We are all here because we want to make a change and bring back standards to the family, the community… We as individuals have to take responsibility for our actions it starts with us as individual’s,” she said, endorsing the sensitisation efforts of the Department of Social Cohesion.
The sensitisation exercise is being followed by a training session for community leaders.
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