Guyana Red Cross youth celebrate International Youth Day

Red Cross youth in Guyana joined young people around the world to commemorate August 12 International Youth Day (IYD) under the theme “Be seen, Be Heard - Youth Participation for Development.”

Among the activities planned and held was an HIV and AIDS ‘Street Corner Affair’ in the Mocha/Arcadia Area, organised by youth in the Georgetown district.  More than 200 people attended.

Young people took the “street stage” to showcase their talents in poetry, song, drama and interpretive dance, while highlighting the problem of HIV and AIDS and its prevalence among young people. A special segment called Real Life Story was used to disseminate HIV and AIDS facts.

Also part of the programme was a quiz segment which allowed members of the audience to answer HIV-related questions. They were rewarded once the question was answered correctly.

Ashanta Osborne-Moses, Guyana Red Cross (GRC) field officer and Regional Trainer in the region’s Together We Can (TWC) HIV-peer education program, addressed pregnant women, many of them teenagers, on Preventing Mother To Child HIV Transmission.

In another part of Georgetown, Red Cross youth planned a two-day youth leadership workshop, ‘Youth in the Movement’. The venue for the August 14-15 event was the GRC headquarters.

Organiser hope the workshop helps Red Cross youth understand more clearly their role in society, thereby encouraging its sustainability.

Basic principles of leadership and how they can be applied more effectively will be dealt with. Another aspect to be examined will be the involvement of young members in their National Society.

In the Rupununi district, where the TWC programme has grown in popularity, young people there will be engaged in a TWC refresher workshop.

This is to assist them in their preparation for upcoming community outreach sessions planned for the rest of the vacation.

As the GRC hosts monthly blood drives in partnership with the National Blood Transfusion Service, a special drive for IYD will be held August 14 at Red Cross headquarters.

Organisers hope to encourage young people to donate blood, which is not popular in Guyana, especially among the young.

One of the popular slogans for the monthly drives is ‘Don’t wait till your loved one needs blood: donating before means that they will get care as soon as they need it.’