Under the Local Engagement and Action Fund, Global Affairs Canada will provide CAD$85,625 to the NGO National Coordinating Coalition Inc. for the “Combatting Gender-Based Violence against Women & Girls in Migrant & Host Communities” Project. The project focuses on Venezuelan migrant women and girls in Guyana and aims to address various gaps in Gender-Based Violence (GBV) services, including lack of awareness, poor service quality, and discrimination against migrants.
Further, the project seeks to address the problem of Gender Based Violence (GBV) affecting Venezuelan migrants and vulnerable women in host communities in Guyana and will be executed by the NGO National Coordinating Coalition. The objective of the project is to build a sustainable and inclusive system of support services for victims of GBV in migrant and host communities in Guyana, by strengthening the co-ordination, monitoring and reach of services, and by creating greater awareness of the incidence and impact of GBV and xenophobia. The model proposed is focused on the inclusion of GBV victims in accessing and navigating relevant services, placing an emphasis on victims from low-income migrant and host communities in and near the capital city
Georgetown, as well as in the bordering West Demerara, areas that are characterized by dense populations and a high prevalence of migrant and host communities. In this regard the solution includes
(i) communication and sensitization to increase awareness of the drivers, incidence, and impact of GBV and xenophobia
(ii) strengthening and expanding access, co-ordination, and quality of GBV support service delivery
(iii) advocacy for policy change in the areas of GBV and migration
(iv) scaling and sustainability of GBV service delivery over the medium to long term. The solution as designed, organizes, advocates, and educates, to effect positive change in attitudes and beliefs that contribute to GBV, to coordinate delivery of critical and relevant services for GBV victims, and to promote the voice and human dignity of GBV victims in migrant and host communities in Guyana.
The official signing ceremony was held on October 20, 2023. Participants included Adam Loyer (Deputy Director and Head of Cooperation in Guyana High Commission of Canada to Guyana and Suriname), Simone Sills (Executive Director – NGO National Coordinating Coalition, Clement Henry (Satellite Office Manager – Field Support Services Project) and other representatives from Global Affairs Canada.