Amerindian communities of Guyana gain self-confidence with the AIDS Competence Process
Who are you, Autry?
I am originally from the north-western part of Guyana. I was invited to work on HIV in July 2008 to manage the project in the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs that is responsible for indigenous people in Guyana. It was a revelation for me. Even though I am from Amerindian decent, I have never experienced indigenous life because my mother moved away from the settlement where she was born. My experience with indigenous people has now become my passion. I look for every opportunity to work in relation with them.
Indigenous people are vulnerable because of their lifestyle. They comprise 9,1% of national population but they occupy almost 15% of the land mass, which is mostly undeveloped. There are interventions in Amerindian communities, mainly forest harvesting and gold mining. Those two activities make them most vulnerable because people leave their families to go and work there.
The biggest strengths I see in Amerindian communities are their humility and their openness to talk. Once you can create the environment for them, motivate them to talk, they are willing to discuss. I travel the length and breadth of Guyana because they are spread out in the country. There is still a lot more work to be done, with respect to interventions, building competence and combating the problem.
Does the AIDS Competence Process add value to what you were doing already?
I would say more than 100%. All my working experience I have tried to build competency. Most of our interventions are top-down but I was always looking for interventions that enable people to do something for themselves and to be motivated on a continuous basis.
I was so happy when I was invited in February to the AIDS Competence training. From the opening I said to myself, my colleagues and then to the assembly that, ”this is what I was looking for: an approach that would contribute to the empowerment of people.” I like the whole idea of identifying the strengths and I use it from that day.
Is it different from what you were doing before?
Exactly and it is most appropriate for the communities. Because of the humility of people, it is not easy for them to be involved, to interact and to relate to the problem. All we have to do is to facilitate the process so that they can achieve their own aspiration and vision.
I wrote a project that will empower the leadership of Amerindian people at the governancet level using this approach. It has been approved by the UNDP. I’m very excited.
Did you apply the approach to other issues?
I introduced it for Carbon foot print management in the Ministry of Amerindian affairs. We have introduced the framework to stimulate the discussion, based on adapted practices and levels of competency.
What is the value of Guyana Competence, as a cross-organizational team?
The HIV focal points of each public sector agency meet once a month. Four of us now adopt this approach and we work as a team to introduce the approach in our respective Ministries. I share my experience with indigenous people with other Ministries. I think the AIDS Competence Process is an approach that could be used in the whole of Latin America.
What is the biggest challenge?
People need to commit and dedicate time to this approach.
You can contact Autry on the Community Life Competence platform