As Child Protection Week commences…– Human Services MinistryBy Rabindra RooplallThe Ministry of Human Services’ Child Care & Protection Agency has reported that 1584 children were abused for the first half of the year,Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys, with mothers and fathers being the main perpetrators.It added that 101 children were separated from their parents and placed in institutions.The statistics were revealed at the commencement of Child Protection Week.The Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, in collaboration with UNICEF and Every Child, will have various activities to mark this very important period in the calendar year.The focus this year is on parenting.While the Ministry noted that institutional placement was the best option at the time for the 101 children who were separated from their parents, a child has a right to a family and to be brought up free from harm and abuse.According to international reports, children are daily beaten up in worse ways as a form of punishment for wrong doing and hourly children are being sexually violated, grossly neglected, rejected and abandoned by their parents:? Abandoned being used in the wider sense of not being loved, wanted and accepted by the parent.? The home has proven to be the most dangerous place for a child.During Child Protection Week 2010, the activities will be centered on change in the way children are viewed, treated and cared.? The desire is for children to be safe in their homes,Cheap NFL Jerseys, receiving the care and attention that promote their well-being and for them to realise their highest potential. Child Protection Week commenced on September 19 and concludes on September 25.However, millions of children worldwide are subjected to violence, exploitation and abuse including the worst forms of child labour in communities, schools and institutions, and as UNICEF’s commitment to protecting children is underlined in Child Protection Strategy, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Millennium Declaration,NFL Jerseys Outlet, and numerous international human rights agreements. UNICEF advocates and supports the creation of a protective environment for children in partnership with governments, national and international partners including the private sector, and civil society.? National child protection systems, protective social practices and children’s own empowerment coupled with good oversight and monitoring are among the elements of a protective environment and enable countries, communities and families to prevent and respond to violence,NFL Cheap Jerseys, exploitation and abuse.According to UNICEF, children are entitled to grow up in an environment that ensures they are protected. UNICEF helps create a protective environment for children that fortify them against abuse in the same way that good health and adequate nutrition strengthen them against disease.Creating this protective environment is the best way we can safeguard children from abuses.However, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security does this by raising awareness and enhancing capacities at various levels of society and in the government. And the Ministry advocates that all children are entitled to protection – as laid out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, while the duties of families, communities and individuals to respect those rights.? In addition,China Jerseys Cheap, children and adolescents themselves can play an active role in their own protection and as advocates for the protection of others.According to the Ministry of Labour,NFL Jerseys China, Human Services and Social Security, child Protection Week is observed in over 120 countries around the world.? It was first observed in Guyana in the year 2004. It is a week to raise the level of awareness to the issues of child abuse, promote the value of children and to encourage individuals and local groups to take action to prevent child abuse.

There are growing suspicions that the American-registered aircraft, a twin-engine Piper Aztec with registration N27-FT, that crashed into a Sparendaam, East Coast Demerara house three Saturdays ago, is uninsured.According to a source, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) did not verify if the aircraft is insured and will be approaching the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to assist in investigating whether it was insured.If the aircraft was insured,Cheap Football Jerseys, the insurance company has been unusually slow to come forward, and this has raised eyebrows in the aviation industry. From all indications the aircraft seems to be uninsured,Jerseys From China, the source said.When this publication contacted the FAA, it was confirmed that the aircraft is registered and owned by Pierre Angiel of Angiel EnviroSafe, Inc. However, the FAA was unable to confirm if the aircraft is insured.Director General of the GCAA,Cheap Jerseys, Zulficar Mohamed, had stated that whenever foreign aircraft enter Guyana, pertinent documents such as a valid certificate of airworthiness, insurance and registration are presented to GCAA.Flashback: The scene of the fatal crashAccording to the source, the GCAA’s Air Transport Department is responsible for verifying if the aircraft is insured, but did not in this case. It is alleged that the department also breached protocol in not informing other departments of the aircraft’s presence in Guyana’s airspace.It was revealed that some high ranking officers at GCAA only became aware of the aircraft’s presence in Guyana’s airspace when the incident occurred.This may be to the detriment of 69-year-old home-owner, Florence Tyndall,Cheap Jerseys, whose house the plane crashed into killing Angiel and his passenger, Canadian Scientist Nick Dmitriev. Tyndall escaped unharmed, but is now without a house.The two men were embarking on a technical survey mission for the Amaila Falls Access Road when the aircraft crashed just after taking off from Ogle Airport.Investigations into the plane crash are still ongoing, with the limited personnel of GCAA having a large task of interviewing many other individuals who had any contact with the aircraft since it was in Guyana.Information gathered thus far has led the GCAA to rule out both sabotage and suicide as the root of the incident,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, the source noted.According to the source, the aircraft was expected to be in Guyana for 10 days and owing to that time constraint and the length of time it would have taken to repair the defects, Angiel chose not to fix the plane. Apparently, he was going to repair the plane when he returned home.According to Charles Hutson, Engineer of Wings Aviation, Angiel’s aircraft had some defects. The light of the undercarriage lock of the aircraft was not working; the auto pilot electrical system socket was ‘popping’; and two days prior to the crash, the right engine of the aircraft ‘popped’ when it took off from Ogle.Angiel was expected to return after the flight to repair that flaw. According to a source,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, when Angiel was warned about the engine problem he brushed it off.Hutson did not comment on if the aircraft was airworthy, but said that Angiel should have had a mechanic on board, taking into consideration the state of the aircraft and the fact that no aviation workshop in Guyana is permitted to repair an FAA-registered aircraft.

– destruction of mangroves also seen in some areasHead of Mangrove Restoration Project, Bissasar Chintamanie, says that a closer look needs to be taken at the mangrove growth in the riverain areas of Region Seven.During the continued outreach of the restoration project it was discovered that a type of plant parasite was affecting red mangrove trees in those communities.Chintamanie says that this is not prominent in other areas and is a bit worrying. He explained that the parasitic plant is shaped like a lily or orchid, and they are killing the mangroves.“We are yet to get the taxonomic characteristics sorted out,NFL Jerseys China,” Chintamanie stated, adding “We are going to see what can be done; probably reduce the parasitism or have a programme in place to tackle that situation.”He said that it would take less than one month to identify the parasite, but charting the way forward might take some more time. This,Cheap Jerseys Store, Chintamanie explained, is because it is necessary to find the means to control the parasite.“We must first look at the cultural and other means before we think of spraying and so on,” he added.As the public awareness programme moved across the region at Morashi and Bonasika along the Essequibo River, it also included communities in the vicinities of tourist resorts such as Arrowpoint and Baganara.Two of the main focuses of the programme in these particular communities was to make residents aware of the project, and more importantly, the new law governing the protection of the mangrove species.It was discovered that in areas some miles away from Morashi, persons are cutting down the mangrove trees in a very unsustainable manner. Chintamanie said that this was apparently done to establish businesses such as small logging,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, while others cut the mangroves for houses.The problem that faced the team however was that the areas had been cleared and abandoned so no one could be held accountable; the culprits could not be found.The team was also informed that more harvesting of mangroves was being done further upriver from Morashi.As they related to residents of the communities, the team discovered that some had read about the public awareness drive in the newspapers, but others were not aware of what was going on, and were not aware of the laws that protect the species.Chintamanie reported that the overall response was one of enthusiasm, “Apart from those who are cutting down, there is no destruction of mangrove. In fact, people support the idea of helping the mangrove (grow), especially the fisheries in the area,Cheap China Jerseys,” he added.He explained that in Region Seven most of the fish comes from the river and residents are aware that the mangroves help in the protection of younger fish.The team will have to go further than the normal outreach programme to deal with the harvesting of the trees. They have to meet with the communities, and identify those who have been harvesting.If this is not successful,China Jerseys Free Shipping, they will seek the assistance of the Forestry Commission, since their rangers would have ideas about who would have done the harvesting. The mangrove team would then meet with those persons individually to deal with the issue.Chintamanie explained that while the Forestry Commission does have a mandate to protect the mangroves, this was only recently passed to them with the recently amended Forestry Act.“However,China NFL Jerseys, we will focus on talking with and educating residents as the first resort of dealing with the issue, before we attempt to enforce the law,” he concluded.

After disconnecting electricity to more than 50 homes in Hyde Park,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, Timehri, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), has now provided them with application forms for prepaid meters.GPL has reportedly promised to bypass the fact that the residents are living on state owned properties,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, and will provide them with their own prepaid meters.Two Mondays ago,Cheap Stitched Jerseys, GPL workers,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, accompanied by police, went into the area and disconnected several power lines.George David, one of the residents, explained that the people of Hyde Park were occupying government properties for many years, and have never paid any electricity bills.He added that while there were some rumours suggesting that the residents would have to start paying the rates, they were never given formal notice.David and other residents noted that they do not have a problem with paying the rates,Authentic MLB Jerseys Online, but were annoyed that they were not notified.David added that many businesses were drastically affected because of the haphazard disconnections.The residents say that they are thankful,Cheap Jerseys China, but are hoping that the administration would not give them the royal run around in getting their prepaid meters set up.

…as dancing son disappearsShellon Sandiford, a 28-year-old Alstrom Alley,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, Christianburg mother of three is at her wits’ end as she ponders her next move in locating her son, Shelton McAlmont, whom she has not seen over a year now.Sandiford, who is a single parent, said her 15-year-old son ran away from home in January 2008,Cheap Jerseys China, and she has not seen or heard from him since.Sandiford said that Shelton, a student of the Wisburg Secondary School, became a very popular child after he got involved in dancing for money. She said that her son is a very good dancer.According to the perturbed woman, it was the whole “passa passa thing” that led her son astray. Shelton reportedly became involved in the passa passa dancing craze from the age of eleven,Wholesale NFL Jerseys Online, even before he wrote the National Grade Six Examination.Shelton McAlmont “People used to call this boy and pay him a lot of money to dance,NFL Jerseys China, many times unknown to me; sometimes I would be at home and the next thing I know is he gone to town, or somewhere else.“It reach to a point where I couldn’t control him,” Shellon Sandiford related with tears in her eyes.One relative said that Shelton’s preoccupation with the dance craze might have been responsible for his poor performance at that examination, and even later after he entered secondary school.Sandiford said that after Shelton went missing she made a report to the Wismar Police Station, and subsequently made another report to the police at Number Two Canal,NFL Jerseys Outlet, West Bank Demerara after she was told that Shelton was seen in the area.She said that while on the West Bank she spoke with a few people, who said that they had seen her son but couldn’t say where he was at the time. One person even speculated that Shelton may have gone into the interior.The woman admitted that her son was unruly and often caused her untold embarrassment,Cheap Jerseys China, but she acknowledged that he is her son, and she wants him to return home.She is pleading with anyone who has any knowledge as to the whereabouts of Shelton to make immediate contact with her on telephone numbers: 442-1126, 442-1749, 442-1494 or 688-1391.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports, Mr. Alfred King,Wholesale Jerseys From China, found himself between the proverbial rock and a hard place yesterday when he was faced with questions by the members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) over the overpayment of salaries to staff members.This money is still to be recovered. The meeting was facilitated in the Chambers of the National Assembly. The debate which lasted for about 20 minutes on this particular issue brought to the fore that the overpayments were due to a breakdown in communication between the departments of?the Ministry.The sum of $111,377 was recovered during the year 2012 and the sum of $20,000 was recovered in 2013, bringing the balance to $710,403. One officer however has committed to repaying $47,000 which brings the balance to $663, 194,China Jerseys Cheap, which to date is still outstanding.According to the reports, 10 staff members were overpaid.King explained that rigid systems have since been put in place to avoid a recurrence; however, there was no indication on his part that the outstanding balance could be recovered.He explained to the Committee that some persons could not be located “An average of ten persons are involved in the issue and one person has paid thus far. There are nine persons with outstanding payments and four out of the nine cannot be located and based on the addresses given they are in Guyana …we are trying to locate them and the ones we contacted are not willing to pay only one person came and paid a small amount and did not pay anything else.”King explained to members of the Committee that the overpayments occurred for a number of reasons and attempts were made to contact the persons involved,Cheap NFL Jerseys, using the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).He claimed that five of these persons could not be located since they were not found at the addresses provided.However, one member of the Committee seemed unsatisfied with this response,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, noting that not being able to locate someone who is employed with the public system is no excuse.He said that when someone is employed with the system they are given an IRD number which is used to identify every taxpayer. He insisted,Cheap Jerseys Authentic, “We are supposed to know where these people are.”Another member of the Committee, Bibi Shadick then posed the critical question, “What do we do with these people when we find them?”King responded that while the individuals in question cannot be prosecuted over the matter since it is not an offence, he will try his best to get them to repay the money.Gail Teixeira then stated that considering the circumstances surrounding the overpayments is the fault of the Ministry and as such he (King) really does not have an excuse.She added that the matter requires better coordination between the finance department and personnel of other sections of the Ministry. “It is about tightening your communication and making changes to the way cherubs are being cut.”Chairman of the Committee,Jerseys From China, Carl Greenside concluded the meeting by explaining that there are two dimensions to be considered. “More careful attention should be paid by members of the Ministry to ensure payments are not made when they are not supposed to. And secondly, it is a systematic problem and I hope it does not recur. I would urge that you go through the system to bring whatever moral pressure you can on these people and see what sort of solution can be had.”