USAID enhances skills of gov’t officers to support youths

FROM June and July 2023, USAID’s Youth Resilience, Inclusion, and Empowerment (Y-RIE) programme will be training more than 80 government officers who work with youths to strengthen their ability to support and empower young people to navigate pathways to becoming resilient and successful adults.

Those being trained include child protection officers, family counsellors, probation, and social service officers from the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, and school welfare officers and guidance counsellors from the Ministry of Education.

Participants are being trained through a curriculum tailored for Guyana focusing on a Positive Youth Development (PYD) approach to identifying and nurturing youth assets, and providing trauma-informed care-- both being approaches which are designed to improve the delivery of services to youth.

Training will be provided for officers in Regions Three, Four, Five, Six, and 10, who will benefit from six days of classroom sessions, and at least 20 hours of an on-the-job supervised practicum over a sixmonth period.

Commenting on her training experience, one teacher indicated that the sessions “…equipped her with knowledge, skills, and newfound confidence, transforming her perspectives on working with youth.”

She further said, “I hope to utilize the strategies and approaches I’ve learned from the training to establish trust and make an indelible impact in the lives of youth.”

At the launch of the Y-RIE programme in Guyana on May 30, 2023, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, expressed her ministry’s commitment to working together [with donors and local groups] to improve the capacity of existing agencies to recognize trauma, prevent youth involvement in crime, and build strong families and communities.

This Y-RIE training responds specifically to the government’s commitment to the Y-RIE programme.

The five-year Y-RIE programme is being implemented in Guyana, Grenada, and Saint Lucia. Through Y-RIE, USAID is working with government and non-government agencies to strengthen social services that serve vulnerable youth and their families and improve coordination between those agencies and justice institutions.

The Y-RIE will also focus on improving learning outcomes for youth at risk, supporting their transition into the workforce, and strengthening the resilience of families and communities.