Toshaos and village councillors belonging to 17 indigenous villages in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) recently completed a two-day workshop in Kato to help equip them to address labour and human trafficking issues.
According to a release from the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry, the interactive sensitisation/training sessions also focused on domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse and sexual abuse.
The workshop was hosted by the ministry in conjunction with the Ministry of Social Protection.
An eight-member team, led by Junior Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Valerie Garrido-Lowe, travelled to Kato last Sunday. While four members of the team returned to Georgetown on Wednesday, the others left for Mahdia to conduct another workshop, held last Wednesday and Thursday, for representatives from seven villages.
The ministry said Garrido-Lowe, who also held several meetings in Kato and sister village Paramakatoi, told the 59 participants after the sessions were completed in Kato that they now have knowledge to protect themselves and their fellow villagers.
She implored them to become instructors and relay what they have learnt to each member of their village, so as to keep their villagers from being exploited.
“The issues that you were exposed to over the last two days are not new to the villages, but now you have new knowledge on how to deal with whatever issues that arise. You are leaders and decision makers in your villages, so it is extremely important that you lead by example,” she was quoted as saying by the ministry.
Neville Nichols, Occupational Safety and Health Officer, who dealt with labour issues at the workshop was reported as saying that most people were curious about their rights at the workplace. “Most were interested in reclaiming outstanding wages and investigating workplace accidents,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ministry said representatives from the Ministry of Public Health and the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) also conducted cervical cancer tests for females in Kato and Paramakatoi and the results were deemed better than expected.
Medex Lorlene Ramsundar, who is attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital, and Dr Shanique Greaves, of the GRPA, were both happy with the results of the cervical cancer tests. In total, for the two villages, the positive rate was six percent, with a 100% treatment rate. Ramsundar opined that the results were better than expected.
