The township of Linden will soon be benefitting from its first ever women’s shelter and two new community centres following an agreement between the United States Security Cooperation Office (SCO), the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), and the Ministries of Communities and Public Health of Guyana.
According to a Ministry of Social Protection release, the New Horizons team, comprising personnel attached to the US Embassy and the US Army in collaboration with the Linden Mayor and Town Council will be constructing the two new centres at Amelia’s Ward and Blueberry Hill, and the new women’s shelter at Richmond Hill.
The ground-breaking ceremony to kick-start the project was held yesterday at Central Amelia’s Ward, Linden.
Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally in her feature address said the ceremony represents the first act of greater things to come. She is confident that the community centres will provide a safe space for persons to meet and will give generations a place to come together and interact.
The women’s shelter, she added, will provide secure accommodation for women and girls who are at risk of or have been subjected to violence.
“I am certain that the residents of Linden will make good use of these centres upon their completion… We know that domestic violence in Guyana continues to be a challenge and has had serious impacts on a lot of women and can impede the socio-economic development of not only communities but the nation as a whole. There are many women and children in Guyana that don’t have that safe place. However, this women’s home will be a refuge and a safe haven for our women and girls,” Ally was quoted as saying.
She added that the government is aware that shelters are an essential part of local and global efforts to end violence against women and will continue to work and invest resources to ensure that shelters are available to women in all the regions of Guyana.
United States Ambassador, Sarah-Ann Lynch noted that this is the third time the New Horizons team is executing a project in Guyana. She stated that this collaboration speaks volumes to the United States’ commitment to building and sustaining enduring relationships with partner nations.
She further noted that the exercise capitalises on its bilateral nature creating a unity of effort for both the US and Guyana to address shared challenges such as in the area of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. By the time the exercise is concluded, many hundreds of Guyanese will directly benefit from its medical outreaches and construction projects.
Chief of Staff of the GDF, Brigadier Patrick West expressed his satisfaction with the military-to-military bilateral cooperation between the US military and GDF, which has seen the fruition of critical projects.
West explained that without the efforts of both militaries to ensure bilateral arrangements are strengthened, projects such as these that benefit a wide cross-section of our population may not become a reality.
“We are building the foundation laid by our predecessors to promote not only military relationships and increased military core competencies but increased interoperability and humanitarian assistance. Today as we have noted, there is an increase in domestic violence and I’m heartened that the shelter is a priority project. The realisation of this shelter signals that men and women in uniform are there to offer support and understand the issue,” Brigadier West stated.
The project was also welcomed by Mayor of Linden, Waneka Arrindell who noted that both the community centres and women’s shelter will significantly benefit the township, the release added.
