A new chapter begins...

Another chapter of my life has started and this time I am living in Georgetown, Guyana! I will be working with Youth Challenge International (YCI) as a CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) funded IYIP intern. I am working with YCI's partner organization, Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG), for 9 months as the Women's Entrepreneurship Program Officer. I am very excited and I can't wait for this incredible journey!

This part of my life has a lot of "firsts" that I am nervous about but also very excited for....

·         First time in South America and first time in the Caribbean. Although Guyana is geographically located in South America it is considered to be more of a Caribbean country and is a part of the Caribbean Community known as CARICOM.

·         First time traveling and working overseas on my own (I am the only Canadian this time)

·         Longest time living away from home and outside of Canada....9 months!

I am thrilled to be working with Youth Challenge International (www.yci.org) and I strongly believe in everything that they do. YCI is dedicated to empowering youth to educate their peers and make a difference in their communities in several different countries around the world. Half of the world's population is under the age of 25 and 89% of youth reside in the developing world with 22.5% of the world's youth living in poverty. Youth are the future and we should start with them to make real change.

Last week myself and six other IYIP interns with YCI participated in six days of training in preparation for the internships ahead of us. Each intern is working in a different position with a different local organization. There are 3 interns working in Tanzania, 1 in Ghana, 1 in Uganda, 1 in Guatemala, and 1 in Guyana...ME! We spent 3 days with YCI learning about the organization, our goals and expectations, development, power and privilege, capacity building, and lots more. The second part of training was 3 days with the Centre for Intercultural Learning (CIL) where we learned more about working in a different country with a different culture which included lots on communication, tools for effective internships, and knowledge sharing between interns.

The training was incredible and I learned a lot as someone without an international development background. Every intern was a perfect fit for their position and we all learned a lot from each other and everyone's incredible past experiences. Just a couple important and interesting learning points for anyone working in a different country or with different cultures...

·         Listen, observe, ask. Non-verbal communication is so important.

·         Suspend judgement. Put yourself in someone else' shoes and make no assumptions.

·         Recognize and acknowledge power and privilege.

·         Ask a lot of questions: triangulate by asking at least 3 different people.

·         Even though the concept of time is different in different countries you should always show up on time and start meetings on time to set the expectations.

·         As an interculturally effective person you must be able to deal with ambiguity.

My favourite part of the training was meeting with my country resource person, Marlon, from Guyana. He was so kind, intelligent, and inspirational and I learned so much from him about everything! Guyana is an interesting and beautiful country. The majority of Guyana is densely forested and it is turning into one of the continent's premier ecotourism destinations. Georgetown, where I'm living, is the capital city and is distinctly Caribbean with a mix of many different ethnic backgrounds.

Guyana in a nutshell...

·         Area: 215,000 sq km (about the size of the UK). The country is located just north of the equator in northern South America between Venezuela and Suriname, north of Brazil.

·         Population: 765,000 (Guyana), 200,000 (Georgetown). The country's population is shrinking by 0.5% each year as a result of emigration.

·         The majority of the population lives on the coastal plain, which supports agriculture, and lies a few feet below sea level but is protected by drainage canals, dams, and walls. The interior is mostly tropical rainforest and the country is swarming with rivers.

·         Guyana is one of the four non-Spanish speaking South American countries. The official language is English, however the spoken English that Guyanese use on a daily basis is a dialect known as Creolese. Hindi, Urdu, and Amerindian are also spoken in more interior parts.

·         Climate: tropical, hot and humid moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to August, November to January)

·         Population living below the national poverty line: 16.8%. Guyana is one of the poorest countries in the Commonwealth Caribbean.

·         Kaieteur Falls!!!! Guyana is home to the world's highest single-drop waterfall....pretty awesome!

·         Guyana is ethnically diverse: East Indian immigrants make up approximately 44% of the population, next are the Afro-Guyanese (30%), and indigenous peoples, or the Amerindians (9%). People of mixed race make up 17%. The remainder includes small groups of Chinese, English, and Portuguese.

·         As a result of the decline in the standard of living and the lack of opportunities for youth, thousands seek to go abroad and for most families today the thing most desired is a visa to the US or Canada. The majority of Guyanese have a relative overseas sending them back money to cover the high costs of living.

·         Urban couples customarily have 3 to 5 children; rural families may have 5 or more.

·         Cricket is a national obsession and dominoes is a favourite table game.

·         Holidays are really BIG and exciting! They have lots to celebrate because of the different religions.

·         Sugar and rice are the main exports as well as bauxite, gold, diamonds, timber and shrimp.

·         Guyanese are outgoing, friendly, and fun-loving!

Lastly, throughout the training we spoke a lot about our hopes and dreams for the internship and here are a couple of mine...

·         Learn as much as possible about Guyana and the culture

·         Make lots of life-long friendships :)

·         Network within the community, specifically with people working in international development, micro-finance, and entrepreneurship

·         Challenge myself

·         Participate in cultural activities

·         Work effectively with my team at YCG

·         Support women entrepreneurs in Georgetown and improve their businesses

·         Have fun!

I hope that you continue to read my blog about my adventures in Guyana and the Women's Entrepreneurship Program in Georgetown. I would greatly appreciate any feedback, advice, and suggestions in the future regarding the entrepreneurship program and how I can improve my work and make it more effective. I am expecting to encounter many challenges as a foreigner who doesn't know everything about Guyana, Georgetown, and the culture, but I am looking forward to an incredible 9 months of experience and learning!