Head of Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Guyana, Ambassador Robert Kopecký has underscored the body’s commitment to help in eradicating child abuse in Guyana.
Ambassador Kopecký was at the time delivering remarks at the ChildLink Partnership Review held at the Cara Lodge, Georgetown.
The Partnership Review is aimed at assessing the impact of the various ChildLink programmes in Guyana, and also to highlight the lessons learnt and challenges encountered in implementation.
The EU has been a partner of ChildLinK since 2010 and channels its support to the non-government organisations (NGOs) via the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), which has as its main objective the strengthening of the role of civil society in promoting human rights.
To this end, the EU has published regular Calls for Proposals in Guyana since 2010, and to date has awarded contracts totalling G$432 million to Guyanese civil society organisations.
Three grant contracts to ChildLinK totalling G$103 million have been approved to partly fund interventions aimed at providing security and protection from violence to children in Guyana.
Protection
In October 2010, a grant contract for G$22 million to support the Hug Project was signed by ChildLinK with the EU Delegation. The main objective of that project was to provide protection and security to children from violence in the Agricola and Ruimveldt communities. That project has been successfully implemented and has exceeded most of its targets, especially in the areas of training of caregivers and child protection sensitisation with children and psychosocial support.
All cases of children needing support from a counsellor were closed responsibly at the end of this initiative, and children and families who needed additional support were referred to other relevant agencies.
In December 2012, a G$27 million grant was signed with ChildLinK to partly fund the Alternative Family-Based Care Project. This project is currently ongoing and the objective is to build strong systems, policies, practices and guidelines that ensure the new child protection legislation becomes operational for the social protection of Guyanese children by December 2014, in collaboration with the Human Services and Social Security Ministry’s Child Care and Protection Agency.
In December 2013, a G$54 million grant was approved for ChildLinK to partly fund the Empowering Children in Difficult Circumstances Project.
This initiative has as its overall objective, the strengthening of policies, practices and approaches to ensure social welfare services prevent and protect 12,650 children across Guyana from sexual violence by December 2015.
Ambassador Kopecký in his remarks commended ChildLinK for their continued commitment to the elimination of child abuse and for becoming one of the important actors in Guyana in the fight against child abuse.
Ambassador Kopecký also echoed the recent statement by Attorney General Anil Nandlall, that, ‘’no convictions for sex crimes in two years suggests a revision of the jury system being long overdue’’, adding that he welcomed the Attorney General’s open words on this sensitive subject.
The EU has taken strong and active measures to curb this terrible problem which robs affected children of their precious innocence and carefree childhood, and which leaves in its wake everlasting scars in the lives of these children, their families, communities, countries and ultimately the entire world.
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