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While there are cash prizes from G$200,000 – G$100,000 for the top three Elite podium finishers, G$150,000 to $80,000 for Masters, there are also cash incentives for winning the various events on the day.

Director of Marketing at KFC Guyana, Sadia Strand, congratulated King and her team on their splendid achievements over the years, and she said that success motivated them to elevate their support to title sponsor.

The first event starts at 06:00h on March 10 in the National Park with a one-mile run followed by eight rounds of workout and then another one-mile run.

The second stage of the event commences at noon.

Admission is free for the morning session, but patrons will pay $2,000 to enter the National Park tarmac from noon.

Other sponsors in support of the event are Guyana Beverages Inc. through their Oasis Water brand, Mohamed’s Enterprise, MVP Sports, Lucozade, Star Rentals, Trophy Stall, Forrester’s Lumber and Building Complex, Genesis Fitness Gym, and Tech Pro Guyana.

He advised that what is in place is a small business grant programme to help people start up and expand businesses.

He said while that has been in place for some time and monies are made available through the Sustainable Livelihoods and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED), that process is not managed at the party’s headquarters.

“There is a way in which that occurs, not in the fashion it is being done today.

“Government programmes are managed by government facilities

“There is no grant being given here at Freedom House,” McCoy added.

Despite his urgings, the crowd grew and people remained hopeful.

President of the SRCS, Leroy Ignacio explained that the community organization decided to host the forum due to the many impacts of climate change in the region. “We thought that engaging with the youths was one of the more effective ways to make behaviour change within our society.”

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Honorable Sonia Parag attended the opening and emphasized the importance of forums like these with youth at the forefront in tackling climate change. “Sixteen percent of the world’s population are youths and what you are doing here is a small fraction of what the world needs. But the more you do it is the more you can assist your country,” she said.

UNICEF Guyana is providing financial and technical support for the event and emphasizing that young people have a huge role to play in combatting climate change, Ms. Jewell Crosse, Adolescent and Youth Development Officer, said she is pleased to see the huge turnout of young people at the forum.

She said, “At UNICEF, we are committed to helping young people take action to protect their future and we do this by raising youth voices on the climate crisis and by increasing youth participation to address climate change, especially in vulnerable communities.”

Crosse encouraged the youths to utilize the forum and engage with the government agencies and share their concerns and priorities for action.

“Guyana has shown great leadership on climate change as the Government has signed the Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action at our World Children’s Day observance last year. UNICEF is extremely pleased that as we continue to work with young people to tackle the climate crisis, that we have the Government of Guyana’s commitment to not only ensuring a bright future for children in Guyana, but for also ensuring their voices are heard and their needs are addressed,” Crosse said.

The opening of the forum saw an outpouring of support from several government agencies with booths from the ministries of Education, Health, Agriculture, Amerindian Affairs, Youth, Culture and Sports, Natural Resources, the National Insurance Scheme, The Guyana Revenue Authority and National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), among others.

The forum comes at a time when the region is feeling the effects of climate change with prolonged dry periods, likely intensified due to climate change, resulting in huge wildfires in the Rupununi region.

UNICEF’s Climate Landscape Analysis for Children (CLAC) in Guyana has identified regions one and nine as being the most severely affected by climate change. The population of these regions comprises mainly Indigenous people, who, to a great extent, depend on natural resources and other ecosystem services of their environment for their sustenance. This makes them very vulnerable to climate change, due to several factors that increase sensitivity and exposure, including dependence on ecosystem services and agriculture, and isolation from main infrastructure and transportation networks.

Recognising that children and young people are the single most affected group by the climate threat, and the need to support youth in vulnerable communities that are at the forefront of the climate crisis to take climate action, SRCS, with support from UNICEF Guyana, initiated the Young Climate Change Leaders Programme in Region nine.

In 2022, over 200 Indigenous youth benefitted from education and awareness of climate change, and a smaller group was trained in proposal writing to support them in securing resources to implement locally developed climate solutions.