Men on Mission initiative launched in Regions 2, 6

…“we aspire for a Guyana” where social ills are minimised – Dr Ashni Singh

President Dr Irfaan Ali’s Men on Mission (MoM) initiative was officially launched in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) on Saturday.
The initiative seeks to provide a platform for positive change.

Also called the “1000 Men on Mission”, the initiative aims at 1000 men across the country to work in communities to eradicate hunger and to uplift those emotionally and socially affected. It also aims at changing every society and bringing a positive life to every single community. MoM also seeks to work against violence and to make men better at being good and responsible men while at the same time developing responsible boys in society.

When the initiative was launched last month, President Ali had said men – both young and old – are being consumed by drug use, formation of gangs, gang brutality and violence, and violent crimes.
“The 1000 Men aim is to address these social ills and promote positive living in communities. This movement will uplift the younger generation of men through mentorship and guidance in the building of a One Guyana and to create a better young Guyanese,” the President had said at the launch.
Chief of Staff Brigadier Godfrey Bess has been made chairperson of the steering committee.
Addressing the gathering at Albion Sports Complex on Saturday, Brigadier Bess pointed out that he was happy to be a part of the initiative.
He said it is hoped that through the initiative they will be able to make men better at what they do.

“Across the country, we expect our men to be good men, responsible men, responsible boys and responsible youths in our society. It is my view that as Guyana pursues its development agenda, empowered, enlightened and responsible men are essential for the development of our country. However, our educational system would show a predominance of females [and] a review of early school dropouts and the perpetrators in crimes and violence show a predominance of males. Thus, it is obvious of the crisis we are in as a country,” Bess pointed out.
In this regard, he noted the timeliness and urgency of the President’s initiative.

Pressing reality
Meanwhile, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh while addressing the gathering noted that the initiative aims at addressing the pressing reality that men in Guyana face. He noted that a lot of men are fully onboard with the national development agenda and play their part in ensuring the minimisation and eradication on some of the social ills in society.

He pointed to alcohol and substance abuse, male delinquent behaviour and young male underachievement in society as some of the challenges facing society today.
“Under the leadership of President Ali, we aspire for a Guyana where these social ills are ideally eradicated and even if not fully banished from our society, are minimised in their incidence and occurrence.”
He said there is a need for a Guyana, where challenges such as domestic violence become a thing of the past.
“When men understand the importance of respecting our women folk and ensuring that they create the conditions that are necessary and play the supportive roles that are needed so that our womenfolk can achieve their full potential,” Dr Singh explained.
He noted that Guyana should become a place where one does not routinely hear of spousal abuse and abuse against children.
For this to happen, he said there is a need to ensure that young men and boys are instilled with the right values in society and are inspired to realise their full potential.
“They will need to have at their disposal male role models and male mentors and have at their disposal the relevant advice, counselling and guidance that is necessary for them to realise their full potential.”
According to Dr Singh, this can come from multiple sources including the religious community which has an important role to play in this regard.
“It can come from our schools and places of education, it can come from our community leaders and it can come from social and societal role models including our men in uniform,” he added.
“Our Disciplined Services have an important role to play in ensuring that the right examples are provided.”
Singh pointed out that the Government has been putting in place several avenues for persons to have an opportunity to acquire the necessary skills and training to face the new Guyana.
“In order for people to take advantage of these opportunities, it is important that our young boys and our young girls coming out of the school system are equipped to participate in this transformation and that they don’t get distracted by some of these social challenges,” Singh encouraged.

Region Two
Over one hundred men in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) joined Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony on Saturday evening as he launched the initiative in Region Two.
Speaking at the launching held at the Essequibo Technical Institute, Dr Anthony expressed gratitude to President Ali for such an initiative to get men involved in order for them to do what is called men on a mission.
The Minister emphasised that men should also be involved in educational programmes and trainings while stating that if a survey is carried out to determine the pass rates of students at schools, it will show that females are dominating.
He added that in a year over 14,000 babies are born and when calculating the number of students sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) it’s roughly about 900. However, he stated that as a result of the tabulation and records it can be seen that students are dropping out from school and most are males.
Dr Anthony added that the Government will try its utmost to put strategies in place to avoid students, especially males from dropping out of school.
“We will work to make sure boys stay in school and that’s one of the missions we should have to ensure there are no school dropout and work with people and school to see what is happening and see why there are gangs of people liming in the corner and we will try to fix that,” he said
The Minister also stated that the initiative is to change every society and bring positive living and positive light to every single community. It is to work against violence, make men better at being good men, responsible men, responsible boys, and youths in the society.
He, therefore, encouraged the men to enrol to the GOAL scholarship, engage in educational programmes and training and empower themselves.
Additionally, Anthony told the men to take care of their health and ensure they get medical check-ups. He also spoke on the importance of education in their future.
Meanwhile, Regional Vice Chairman Humace Oodit during his brief remarks said that the initiative is a movement to implore, and a man’s importance is to share responsibilities, adding that they must dedicate themselves and not be a part of illegal activities and problems.
“Men must create a positive approach to the generation. Initiative Men on Mission still find some men feeling the jeopardy of society… You cannot be gender base and discriminating or act against any human… In doing so the need to advance our education is very important and we can see that is what the Government is doing… they launching scholarships and training session to empower citizens and we as men should grab the opportunity to be apart.”
He added that men should grasp and find unity and create a meaningful environment. He further said that men should work with young boys and coach them to do the right things and motivate them to develop a model to transform men in today’s society.
Attending the launch were the Regional Chairperson Vilma Da Silva, senior officials of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the Guyana Police Force (GPF), and local sportsmen, religious leaders, teachers, community workers, farmers among other residents of the Essequibo Coast.