The people. The ones who make it all happen. YCG is what it is because of them. They are amazing. They are funny. They are the YCG family...
Meet Dwayne...
Risk and Logistics Coordinator and so much more
Dwayne is a funny and outgoing character who shares the same taste in music as I do. You can always count on him for a good laugh. He is basically like a second father while I am here responsible for my safety, health, and lots more. He coordinated my pick up at the airport and my entire orientation including what to do and what not to do in Georgetown. He manages the logistics for all of YCG's programs from the food and transportation to accommodations and safety. He supervises YCG's two drivers and the three vehicles and is responsible for stationary purchases and the procurement of all assets. It made me smile when we were talking about my health and safety and Dwayne said ..."now that you are away from home, we are your family" :)
Meet Mr. Wilson and Mr. Dillon...
Drivers
They are both great! With over 20 people in the office and lots of activity going on at all times the drivers are kept busy with meetings, pick-ups, deliveries, errands, and trips to the field (schools, the interior of Guyana, etc.). Mr. Wilson also works on the VCT (Voluntary Counselling and Testing) team.
Meet Michael aka "Mikey"...
International Programs Manager
Mikey is the coolest. A technology lover and an all around nice smart guy, he manages all of the international volunteer trips at YCG. Groups of Canadians, Australians, and Americans spend 4 - 8 weeks working in the interior, the most remote areas, of Guyana where most donors don't focus their efforts. The #1 focus of the international volunteer program is HIV/AIDS education. The 2nd focus is literacy. In the rural communities young boys don't see the need for education because they can make large amounts of money working in mining. "Literacy starts everything...if we can learn to read then we can learn anything even without a teacher"- Mikey.... I loved that. The 3rd focus is leadership and community development. The volunteers build schools providing physical labour to help the communities rather than giving money. The groups also help communities seek sponsorship and develop tourism trails. When speaking about the international programs Mikey said, "life is about taking risks"....I agree.
Meet Andrea...
Field Support Coordinator
Andrea is also super cool and she heads up a lot of the international volunteer teams in the interior. Her work is non-stop 24/7 for 4 - 8 weeks when she is with the international volunteers. I've heard incredible things about the international volunteer trips and everyone LOVES them! Many volunteers keep in touch and return to visit.
Meet Allana, Shemaine, Vanessa, and Candacia...
HIV/AIDS Prevention Team
These wonderful ladies currently work in three different schools promoting life skills, abstinence, and faithfulness. They usually conduct 1 hour sessions in grade 8 classrooms throughout the week and distribute posters and flyers within the schools. They are working hard to get parents more involved since the adults are typically unaware of what goes on in their children's lives, especially in the more rural areas. They also run an out of school youth program for 16 - 24 year olds and also work with miners, commercial sex workers, and the Amerindian communities. It is known that wherever miners are, commercial sex workers are too. It can be really challenging for team because of the conflict between culture and science and what people believe in with regards to HIV/AIDS. Other challenges include distributing materials such as brochures to the miners because of low literacy and occupying the commercial sex workers' time when they are at work. The group provides information, resources, and condom demonstrations in different communities and they have a large group of volunteer peer educators who they train to educate the Guyanese community.
Currently, the HIV/AIDS prevention team along with some of their volunteers are in the midst of auditioning and preparing a play for the Guyana National Drama Festival coming up in May!
Meet Quaysi...
UN Volunteer, Parent Support Group
He has been my best friend since day 1 helping me out with everything and anything....shopping, ants in the apartment, cooking Guyanese dishes, inviting me over for lunch, etc. I could not have survived week 1 without him :) Quaysi is a UN volunteer currently working at YCG on the Parent Support Group. In some families there is very little communication between parents and their kids and parents sometimes resort to lashes or whips. He plans to organize events such as a BBQ in parks and community centres to bring parents together and discuss the challenges of parenting while providing support and advice.
Meet Germaine...
National Volunteer Teachers Program Manager
This is the young man that I get to look at all day when I look up from my desk. We are both located on the second floor of the building in a cubicle area where our desks face each other. We started up a little basketball type shooting game with the waste bin that is placed in between our desks....at the end of every week the loser has to buy lunch. Germaine is responsible for the National Volunteers Teacher Program which sends volunteers from around Guyana to work in the interior as a teacher where there is a shortage of qualified teachers. The government funds the project and this year they have 30 National Volunteer Teachers working throughout the country in the most remote areas in Regions 1, 7, 8, and 9.
One of the challenges is recruiting men to volunteer. Why teach when you can work in the mines? The amount of money you make in one day in the mines is greater than the amount you would make in a month as a teacher. YCG uses TV, newspaper, radio, flyers, and posters to advertise for the program and attract volunteers. We have YCG polo shirts with "Become a National Volunteer Teacher today!" on the back and one of YCG's vehicles is currently being branded with an advertisement for the program as well. The program is critical for children's education in the interior of Guyana and it also gets people interested in teaching providing them with an incredible experience that makes them more marketable.
I'll be sure to keep you all updated on the status of the Germaine vs. Amanda basketball game :)
Meet Cleazell and the VCT team...
Voluntary Counselling and Testing Mobile Team
Cleazell heads up the mobile VCT team that provides HIV/AIDS counselling and testing to communities all across Guyana. The target for this year is to reach over 5,000 people. The team travels around to different communities distributing condoms and providing 30 minute counselling sessions. They depend heavily on word-of-mouth to promote the testing but also use flyers and influential people such as football and cricket players to mobilize communities. In the more remote areas they would contact the village leader to spread the word. They also work with churches, mosques, temples, youth groups, and non-religious groups and try to organize testing around sporting events. YCG typically has about 20 - 25 clients/day. The VCT team includes Renatta, Avanel, Tannylee, and Abel and they are all amazing as well!
Meet Abina and Chelauna...
Youth Leadership and Employability Program
I recently met these ladies on Monday after they finished an incredible 6 week Youth Leadership and Employability Program with 50 participants. The program started last year in September with a 6 week training program for 22 people. It is another amazing program that I want to get more involved with. The program focuses on providing youth with important life, decision-making, and conflict resolution skills among many other things. They work with many youth in Guyana including at risk teenagers involved in drugs and teen pregnancies. The program promotes democracy amongst women and provides advice and strategies on how to deal with conflict situations in homes and in the workplace.
Following the 6-week training YCG provides all participants with a one-month work placement with organizations and companies in the private sector. They use the newspaper, TV, word-of-mouth, and past participants to promote the program and clearly it is working very well! Both Abina and Chelauna emphasized that you can really see the boost in confidence among their participants over the weeks. The group is now organizing a large community project called Peace Building Through Sport that I am getting involved with. I attended a meeting that they had this past Wednesday and I'm really excited to help!
Meet Ruth...
Receptionist
Our lovely receptionist who greets everyone with a smiling face...she is a great actress as well :)
Meet Bernadette...
Office Custodian
Always smiling and always so friendly, Bernadette takes care of the entire building and keeps it clean and functional. She makes the best juice!
Meet Sehkeisha...
Program Associate
She is the incredibly amazing girl who took me around everywhere on my first day and has helped me settle in. She helps me out a lot at work and I frequently ask her questions about anything and everything. Sehkeisha does a lot working with both Samantha and Dmitri (see below) to support them with everything that they do while doing many other program and administrative tasks in the office. She helped YCG tremendously with the start-up of the Women's Entrepreneurship Program before I arrived and has continued to support me every day. We share a love for shoes (specifically heels) and she has helped me out with all of my shopping needs!
Meet Samantha...
Finance Manager
She is our incredibly smart and hardworking Finance Manager who manages all cash coming in and going out of the organization. Samantha was also very involved with the Women's Entrepreneurship program prior to my arrival. She is very kind and we also share a love for shoes.
Meet Dmitri...
Executive Director
My supervisor at YCG...Dmitri is amazing! Hardworking, intelligent, and a great leader and manager. He has given me so much responsibility, involvement, and experience in just 2 weeks and I think he is an incredible ED. We've spent a lot of time together going to meetings, having our own meetings, and playing a game of billiards. We had some great conversations and we both strongly believe in taking initiative and going above and beyond the expectations of your job. I'm excited that I have such a great supervisor who is also super fun!
And there you have it...the YCG Team. They are my new family!
