DPP lauds JES’s contributions to legal education in hinterland

– as programme ends in September

After four years of close collaboration with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in educating hinterland communities on domestic and sexual violence, the Canadian-funded Justice Education Society (JES) Guyana programme will come to an end on September 30, 2026.
In light of this development, JES Country Director Lisa Thompson, accompanied by its International Programme Director, Gavin Martyn, paid a courtesy call on the DPP, Shalimar Ali-Hack, at her office and expressed gratitude for the support through collaborative outreaches to regions one (Barima-Waini) and nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

Ali-Hack, during the farewell courtesy call, noted that while JES has done a good job through its work in sensitising and educating the Amerindian communities, particularly the women and girls, on domestic and sexual violence, training the Toshaos and other senior village councillors is important.
“Education is needed for a generational change, and the ideal way to do it is to go and interact with the people to educate them, buy into them… They are well educated, and they are smart. Once the Amerindians are exposed to education, they will develop. We try to educate them on their rights.”
The DPP recalled that on numerous outreaches, she would advocate for the young Amerindians to take their education seriously from primary to tertiary levels and, on completion, for them to return to their homesteads to serve and develop themselves and their communities.
She noted that Amerindian communities are now benefiting from electricity and Internet connectivity with ICT hubs in satellite communities that will expose them to new frontiers and cultures.

She alluded to the infiltration of societal ills like the playing of loud music through “boom boxes” and the consumption and selling of intoxicants, including the use and sale of marijuana and other illicit drugs.
“For you to move from the natural state of quiet and tranquillity to these things, it’s against the law. We need to take that into consideration when we are doing these outreach programmes.”
The DPP commended the Canadian-funded project. “Canada is an ideal place to guide Guyana in Amerindian/Indigenous communities … you are developed in the areas of the internet and technology.”
Through the years, the DPP’s Office, together with JES, has held outreaches in Amerindian communities, including Moruca and Baramita in Region One, and the Deep South Rupununi villages of Potarinau, Shulinab, Meriwau, and Quiko in Region Nine.
Importantly too, JES has joined forces with the DPP’s Office to train members of the Guyana Police Force in those regions, police prosecutors, and legal staff of the DPP’s Office on culture sensitisation.