Investing In Youth in the Caribbean...

Life in Guyana

I've been here almost 2 months now....it's crazy how fast time flies. I guess I'm just having lots of fun! :)
I'm going to share a little bit on the main observations I have made. Keep in mind that these are just my observations from the area that I live in, the office that I work in, and the people that I am friends with. I haven't traveled much outside of Georgetown so I don't know a lot about the interior and more rural areas in Guyana but here is a little bit more about what I have learned, what I have observed, and what my life is like in Georgetown...
Guyanese Culture...
Of course there are cultural differences between Guyana and Canada but things aren't drastically different in terms of culture, unlike many of the other countries that YCI interns are currently living in (Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, etc.). The culture is very Caribbean, with some Brazilian influence, which you can recognize by the type of music, style of dance, and street parties until sunrise :) The dress is pretty much the same as it is in Canada. When you are working in the international development field and living abroad in developing countries you are told to bring and wear lots of skirts, shorts and dresses that fall below the knee because of the country that you will be living in. However, even in the rural areas of Guyana you will find girls wearing very short skirts, shorts, and dresses just like you would see back in Canada. The majority of clothing that is sold in Guyana comes from the US and a lot of people, especially youth, like to be flashy with brand names, designer bags, expensive sneakers, and lots of jewellery.
Food is very important in Guyanese culture. When it comes to food everything is very communal and Guyanese are very hospitable. When out with a group of friends it is common for one person to buy everyone's lunch and/or drinks. Or, if one person buys food or a snack they will usually share it and pass it around to everyone else. Lunch is the biggest and most important meal of the day and typically when Guyanese cook they will make more than enough food in case any guests stop by. I learned very early on that you must ALWAYS have hot sauce (chili) and ketchup in your kitchen if you plan to entertain Guyanese guests... most people put it on everything! :) The most common Guyanese dishes are: cook-up , fried rice, chow mein, curry, and macaroni. Cook-up is typically a mix of rice, chicken/beef, beans, onions, cook-up seasoning, and pretty much anything else you have around the kitchen!
When it comes to body image it is the complete opposite of North America. In North America we are so obsessed with being thin, fit, and having this "perfect body"...I'm sure right now as the summer approaches in Canada every girl is dieting and working out like crazy to get that perfect beach body. In Guyana, and the Caribbean in general, men like curves and women are a lot more comfortable with their bodies even if they are a little heavier. You can clearly notice how confident the bigger girls are and the very thin girls are more self-conscious doing everything they can to put on weight. I really do wish that our North American obsession with body weight would change and every girl would feel better about themselves!
There are some trends and fads that are very common and evident in Guyana. Here are the two main ones that I have noticed...
1. Tattoos!!! EVERYWHERE. Almost everyone has a tattoo. Tattoo sleeves (cloth material with tattoo designs that you wear on your arms) are the newest trend to have right now.
2. Back in the 90's gold teeth became a fad. It is very common to see people with one gold tooth and I noticed this immediately as I got off the plane. Sometimes they come with a shape such as a heart or a star.
Other observations...
3. Birds are common to have as pets and you will sometimes see men, typically on bicycles, carrying around their birds in cages. I've heard that the men and their birds congregate with others to see whose bird has the largest chirp. Speaking of birds...bird watching is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Guyana!
4. When asked your age adults tend to say the age that they are turning, not the age that they actually are. I am turning 23 in August so I would say that I am 23 even though that isn't for another 3 months.
5. Frequent blackouts. There are typically blackouts at least once a week...Friday afternoons are common scheduled blackouts. My Australian roommate and I embrace the blackouts and spend the time sitting out on our veranda drinking beers and talking which is nice. One day at work when we had a blackout I was expressing to my boss how I enjoy blackouts....we debated about it for a little while before he said "Amanda, one day there is going to be a blackout while you are doing something very important and then you will no longer like blackouts". Sure enough on the first day of the Entrepreneurship Workshop that I was facilitating for the staff there was a blackout and I had to finish the first day without the projector.
6. Unfortunately there is lots of garbage. Georgetown is a beautiful city but it has so much potential to be so much more. You will see piles of garbage everywhere and there is currently no recycling system so EVERYTHING goes in to the garbage.
7. Common Creolese phrases: (GUYANA = CANADA)
• "I aint hear you" = Sorry OR pardon me
• "Me aint know" = I don't know
• "You and who" = who were you with/who are you going with
And I have perfected all of these :) ....well sorta.
Life at YCG...
It is great! It is hilarious and fun and I really enjoy it. The office is very young and we laugh a lot. A typical day involves my boss Dmitri and co-worker Dwayne teasing me about my Canadian accent. Some words that us Canadians pronounce differently than Guyanese: butter, tomato, potato, three (they pronounce 3 as "tree" and 30 as "turty"), water, sour, and healthy (they pronounce it elle-tee). It is pretty hilarious...I am easy to tease and I play along with it.
My greatest learning experiences...
8. I recently facilitated an introductory Entrepreneurship Workshop internally for the YCG staff. Dmitri had asked me to run a workshop for all of the staff and although I was a little nervous about it of course I took it on :) It was an incredible experience and I learned a lot. I'm excited to run the workshop again in the future so that I can improve and gain even more experience.
9. I am learning a lot more about cooking, yay! My Australian roommate, Dale, loves to cook so I am learning lots from him but I am also learning how to cook Guyanese meals from my other friends.
Overall it has been an incredible 2 months. I have learned a lot, experienced a lot, and made a lot of great friends. I can't wait for even more...I just hope that time doesn't fly too fast!

My Baby

Well, my internship is 9 months right?
The Women's Entrepreneurship Programme (that is not a typo, it is "programme" in Guyana) is a new initiative that Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG) has started with the objective of training and supporting 50 female entrepreneurs and small business owners to improve their business and ultimately their quality of life. The programme is the first of its kind in Guyana and it will provide women with resources, knowledge, and networking opportunities while developing female entrepreneurs and businesswomen to inspire others.
One month ago we had 22 women signed up for the programme and I am thrilled to say that we now have 58! :) During my first week in Guyana, Dmitri (YCG's Executive Director) and I were in the Kaieteur News Sunday paper (the biggest day) and we appeared on TV twice to speak about the programme. I had never been interviewed on live TV before and it all happened within my first week in Guyana so that was pretty exciting. The following two weeks were busy with phone calls and visits from women interested in signing up for the programme. Almost every single one of them mentioned that they had read about the programme in the paper or seen us on TV. Every time someone called or came in and told me all about their business or business idea I got really excited. Some of them would tell me their life stories, I loved it. 
The programme, funded by Exxon Mobil, was planned to start a couple months back but there wasn't one staff member dedicated to managing it which caused a slow start. When I arrived there was a structure and ideas about what the programme would entail but we brainstormed and developed it during the first two weeks. This is what the programme looks like as of now:
1. Entrepreneurship Training: Approx. 20 hours of entrepreneurship training done in 2 batches (25-30 women in each)
2. One-on-one support: Follow-up done by myself with bi-monthly meetings to evaluate each participant's progress, address issues, and provide advice going forward. I plan to meet with each entrepreneur 3 times over the following 6 months (June to November).
3. A mentorship programme which will partner each participant with an established business owner, entrepreneur, or business professional for further support, guidance,  and networking opportunities.
4. Monthly networking cafes for the participants to network, exchange ideas, and socialize in the community. These will include motivational guest speakers from the community and success stories from the participants themselves.
5. Monthly workshops to provide continuous training and education on specific topics that were not covered in the initial training session (e.g. Business etiquette, accessing international markets, management and leadership, etc.)
6. Other networking opportunities: providing the entrepreneurs with information on events, conferences, expos, and other networking opportunities in Georgetown, Guyana, and internationally.
• There is a conference in Port of Spain, Trinidad called Investing in Youth, with a large focus on entrepreneurship, that is coming up at the end of May and we will be sending one participant to attend.
• The Ministry of Human Services has launched a new event called Feminition, a Women's Exposition, in Guyana that will take place from May 27th - 29th in Georgetown. Our entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to set up a booth to display and sell their products and services. It couldn't be more perfect!

              Germaine and I at our desks....notice the trash bin in the middle for our basketball game

I am also hoping to plan a small Entrepreneurship Fair/Expo and create a Guidebook for YCG that will provide youth, women, and entrepreneurs in Guyana with a toolkit for starting up their own business. Overall the programme will encourage entrepreneurship in Guyana and provide participants with the knowledge, resources, and support to start-up and grow their own businesses. Over the past month the majority of my time was spent in meetings with different financial institutions, partner organizations and potential training facilitators and they were all great! I also spent a lot of time developing my work plan, recruiting participants, and working out the logistics of the programme. I had quite a few meetings on my own and I have learned so much in such a short period of time :)
The next step has been to organize the training sessions that will be starting in just over one week. We have chosen a training facilitator, decided on the dates, and set a schedule of topics to cover. This week I will be finalizing all of the logistics (venue, snacks, supplies & materials, etc.) and putting together a folder for each participant among many other things.

The programme is my baby but I also have some other initiatives and activities that I hope to accomplish during my time here.... 
1. Assisting with YCG's social media marketing and taking on the responsibility of YCG's twitter account (they currently don't have one)
2. Some photography on the side: for YCG, friends, and other events in the community
3. Professional Development Activities: Anything related to entrepreneurship, youth, and sport. I am hoping to get more involved with activities related to these three things, my ultimate passions in life.
I am always busy and always learning which is great. I never would have imagined that I would be in another dream job managing an entire entrepreneurship programme on my own in a foreign country but it has been incredible. I can't wait for the next 8 months!