Guyana Integrated development with the youth of Guyana

Brief history

 

Varqa Foundation has more than 10 years of  experience in the field and has collaborated with different organizations such as the European Union, UNICEF, Canada Future Fund, British Partnership Scheme, OSED, Canadian Organisation for Development through Education, etc. Over a period of 15 years Varqa Foundation has launched a literacy project  called "On the wings of Words" (OWOW) which trained more than 3.500 facilitators with more than 10.000 children and youth throughout the country. 

 

Description of the prevailing situation

 

A nationwide functional literacy survey conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Guyana revealed that 89% of those studied were operating below acceptable levels of functional literacy and 20% of 12 year-olds were unable to read one word. The school system is also challenged by the loss of teachers to more affluent countries. Teachers are faced with low wages, lack of teaching materials, large classes, and an inadequate teaching-learning environment. The net result has been a serious decline in education standards in the country.

To this comes the challenge of HIV/AIDS. Guyana is the second most infected nation in the Caribbean. Currently about 18,000 adults and children are living with the disease in Guyana. Of these, approximately 800 are under 14 years. The total number of children orphaned by AIDS was 4,200 by 2001.


Project description  

 

To meet the above two major challenges, this proposal aims the following: 

  • Training of 100 volunteers to work with children and youth to learn to read
  • Conduct workshops to train 200 parents in early intervention skills
  • Train 125 junior youth in basic academic skills and 1000 youth in the "You Can Move The World" "YCMTW" program

With regard to the HIV/AIDS challenge our proposal aims to focus on attitude change in the minds of the junior youth (target group 11 to 14 years in particular) adopting an integrated approach of development and communicating effectively to youth in a language and medium they understand. The goal is to ensure that the targeted youth become better informed about how to deal with drug and alcool abuse, prevention of suicide, domestic violence which is still the main problem of violence in Guyana and to become more knowledgeable about ways in which to prevent the spread of the disease. 

 

Press articles: here

Newsletter: ici

 
Project duration:  

February 2008 - January 2011

 

Link: to pictures from this project

 

Bugdet 

 

 * MAE= Ministry of Foreign Affairs

N.B. This project is also  subsidized by the City of Luxembourg with a participation of 14.837€, Diddeleng Hëlleft with 16.000€ and the Bazar International Luxembourg with 4.000€

 

 

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Total €
MAE* 33.772 25.367 22.471 81.611
UF 16.887 12.683 11.235 40.805
Total 50.659 38.050 33.706

122.416
 

" The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementary stages. He shall be given an education which will promote his general culture and enable him, on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop his abilities, his individual judgement, and his sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society."

- Declaration of the Rights of a Child, principle 7 -