The Ministry of Home Affairs Ministry hosted a ceremony on Monday to recognise the sterling contributions of Denise Dias, Founder of the Alicea Foundation and the Mothers in Black towards safer roadways.
The Alicea Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded in 1997 in memory of Alicea Gouveia, who died in a road accident. Alicea had opened a life insurance policy unknown to her parents, Denise and Dennis Dias, who used the money to start the Foundation. The Foundation later led to the formation of Mothers in Black.
The Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee as saying that Mothers in Black’s focus on road safety has been constant.
He noted that under the stewardship of Denise Dias, the group is easily recognisable countrywide. “Every life lost on the road is a loss to our country, is a loss to our national assets in so far as human resource is concerned,” he said, while adding that he was hopeful that Dias’ staunch advocacy on road safety will be emulated by all road users.
According to Rohee, roads are busier than ever but “the road network has not expanded correspondingly with the number of vehicles that we have now and therefore road safety is extremely important.” Against this background, he disclosed that the ministry is working closely with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) to implement initiatives such as the stray catchers’ unit and it is examining other proposals to boost road safety. The demerit system is an idea that is currently being explored, where persons who have been charged more than three times for traffic-related offences, could have their licences revoked.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations Lekraj Persaud said that all GPF ranks are constantly exhorted to get more involved in road safety awareness. He noted too that the police constantly review strategies in an effort to ensure safer use of the roads. Persaud lauded Dias’ resilience in looking past her own tragedy and creating much needed awareness on road safety in Guyana.
According to GINA, Dias’ selfless, voluntary contributions to ensuring safety on the country’s highways were also lauded by the NRSC, with which the Mothers in Black works very closely.
The organisation is now a permanent feature in the NRSC roster.
In her address Dias said, “Road safety is everybody’s business. We all have a duty to care and keep our children and young people safe.” Last year, she was invited to Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative Conference in New York to tell her story. During that meeting, it was decided that on May 11, 2011, a global road safety decade of action will be launched.
As such, the Mothers in Black with support from government, the NRSC, GPF and both the private and public sectors will be launching an education road safety campaign, which will be Guyana’s contribution to the United Nations Global Decade of Action.
