 eu funds ug childlink project to strengthen community response in managing migrant and other emergency responses in guyana eu funds ug childlink project to strengthen community response in managing migrant and other emergency responses in guyana andydindial wed 12152021 1519 the university of guyana on wednesday december 1 2021 inked a memorandum of understanding mou with childlink a nongovernmental organisation under a project funded by the european union eu this agreement would see the university developing two programmes aimed at strengthening the capacity of humanitarians and social workers with the knowledge skills and attitudes to effectively and efficiently manage migrant and other emergencies impacting communities in guyana the mou was signed during a simple ceremony at the office of the vicechancellor turkeyen campus the initiative is being funded by the european office in guyana and will boost the capacity of both preuniversity and ug social work students to deal with migration and other disasters and offer muchneeded psychosocial support university of guyana s vicechancellor xi prof paloma mohamed martin expressed sincere thanks to the european union for funding the project noting that the initiative will bring communities together with resources they desperately need prof mohamed martin further posited that the influx of migrants from venezuela and brazil have increased due to covid19 often when we have these global tragedies it is the smallest and the most vulnerable who are forgotten this project does not forget them and for that we are very thankful to childlink for helping the university to be involved in bringing relief to those persons who most need it at the community and individual levels the vc said ambassador of the european union to guyana his excellency fernando ponz canto in his remarks posited that the european union is very happy to finance the programme as part of a boarder programme to help those who are most at risk during these difficult times ambassador ponz canto highlighted that ug will play an instrumental role in implementing equipping and training 50 persons per year so that the right kind of social services that are needed for the children can be provided it is instrumental that children are linked to the communities and social services so that they can receive the assistance that is needed the ambassador noted university of guyana s deputy vicechancellor prof emanuel cummings stated that the mou will further enhance and complement the work being done by the university we are pleased to be a part of this initiative that will ensure that our social workers and our sociologist are trained and equipped with the kind of knowledge that is needed to ensure this programme is successful prof cummings expressed dean of ug s faculty of social sciences dr paulette henry in brief remarks noted that it is a privilege for the university to formally engage with childlink and the european union this coming together for social work and childlink to design a programme for communities and to manage migrant emergencies are essential this will allow our social workers to continue to do the work they do as well as allow our undergraduate and graduate students to select from among these courses as electives dr henry highlighted consultant of childlink ms bonita harris representing chair of the board said this collaboration with ug is to engage academics so as to increase knowledge and skills to create opportunities for professionals to be more equipped to address emergencies in guyana ms harris added this initiative places more emphasis on target groups that have influential roles in making communities safer and inclusive for children and their families including migrants and children with disability we recognise this as a good opportunity to engage the university of guyana in creating more tangible changes in these emergencies for more information on the programme to be offered please make contact with dr paulette henrey at paulettehenry uogedugy  link to the recording  https youtube kzqcvyqxk0     ug in brief  the university of guyana is the 58thyear state university of guyana it offers 136 programmes in over 60 disciplines online and facetoface in 8 campuses across guyana with a student population of now 10000 ug has provided education learning and research for over 50000 alumni the mission of the university is to discover generate disseminate and apply knowledge of the highest standard for the service of the community the nation and of all mankind within an atmosphere of academic freedom that allows for free and critical inquiry ug s forwardthinking blueprint 2040 is currently setting the course for the university s future design and institutional response to the changing needs of guyana contact ms krest cummings public relations officer department of events conferences and communications decc 5926235104 eu funds ug childlink project to strengthen community response in managing migrant and other emergency responses in guyana  