The Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO) has not only withdrawn from Guyana but also from Latin America and the Caribbean region as a whole following a ‘Strategic Alliance’ with Cuso International, in an effort to avoid duplicating the services the two organisations offer.
The VSO in a statement which it released after the Sunday Stabroek made contact about its closure of the local office disclosed by Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon, has said that it has transferred ownership of the Guyana programme to Cuso International. It said that Cuso International is one of North America’s largest international organisations sending volunteers, with its head office in Ottawa, Canada.
According to the statement Cuso shares VSO’s vision of a world without poverty and has a joint approach of engaging committed, highly skilled volunteers and placing them with carefully selected organisations. It said that the two organisations have worked in partnership for a number of years and in recent times their relationship had developed further into a strategic alliance
“VSO and Cuso International are both committed to poverty reduction and the role of volunteering in development,” the statement said.
It added that in order to “optimise the development impact of working together,” they formalised their relationship through a ‘Strategic Alliance’ entered into on November 24, 2011.
“One important aspect of the Strategic Alliance is to not duplicate efforts in individual countries and they have agreed to allow Cuso International to work exclusively in the Latin America and Caribbean region,” the statement said.
Chief Executive Officer of VSO, Marg Mayne, said in the statement that the organisation has been helping communities in Guyana for over twenty years and “we greatly appreciate the support of the Government, our partners and other stakeholders.”
She said that as the Guyana programme transitions to Cuso and a new country strategy, they will be engaging with some current and some new partners.
VSO says it continues to operate in the following countries across Africa and Asia Pacific: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, The Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Tajikistan and Thailand.
According to Tara Persaud Country Representative Cuso International LAC-Guyana, who had headed the VSO office, VSO Guyana was established in 1959 and was maintained until 1976 when it was asked to withdraw along with other non-governmental organisations. In April of 1989 the VSO Guyana programme returned after a fifteen-year absence and to date over 1000 volunteers have been placed in Guyana.
Persaud said in the last six years their areas of focus have been secure livelihoods, education and disability. Some of the projects/programmes they have worked on include the special education needs policy of the Ministry of Education, the education management course of NCERD, literacy in various regional offices, disability legislation and advocacy with the National Commission on Disability, the empowerment of people with disabilities through working with various disabled people organizations.
She told Sunday Stabroek that their volunteers are recruited based on the needs of partner organisations and come to Guyana for specific placements.
Cuso International is a registered charity, incorporated in Ontario under the Canada Corporations Act. The stated objects of incorporation are the promotion of volunteering to fight global poverty, and the mobilization of human and financial resources to fight poverty and promote social justice.
The organisation is not new to Guyana, as according to a statement, it placed its first volunteer in Guyana (then British Guiana) in 1962. Over the next 10 years, 73 volunteers worked in Guyana in the education sector mainly, and to a lesser extent in health, agriculture and civil engineering. After 1972 the organisation had no presence in Guyana until 2008 through its relationship with VSO. VSO Canada had recruited over 50 volunteers for VSO programmes in Guyana, starting in 1993.
Its programme in the region is expected to build on work in Jamaica and Guyana and it is aiming to accelerate youth empowerment by reducing the barriers to economic engagement and redirecting at-risk youth to more positive behaviours. In Guyana, the organisation said it will continue to support the development of hinterland communities.
“Our aim is to work in all Caricom countries with the exception of Haiti but at the bare minimum we will focus on six priority countries: Guyana, Jamaica, Dominica, Grenada, Suriname and Belize,” the organisation said.
Cuso said its programme aim and themes were developed from a period of research, consultations and reviews completed in each of the countries. In particular consultations were held with current partners and youth themselves.
Its work is still founded on recruitment and placement of international volunteers and support for national volunteering. However, it said given the human resources in the region, its goal will be to maximize these through Caribbean regional volunteering, knowledge sharing events, exchanges, and mentorship and fellowship programmes.
“We will lead new innovative ways of connecting people, projects and organizations or institutions with particular knowledge and experience to those who need or want it. We will be seeking new ways of engaging the Diaspora throughout the Caribbean especially Jamaica and Guyana,” it said.
