In order to ensure that behavioural changes which can lend to better lifestyles remains constant in local communities, Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG) yesterday intensified its collaboration with representatives of barbershops and salons.Through a series of five workshops, one of which was held at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) yesterday, YCG’s Youth/Skills Coordinator, Utamika Cummings related to Kaieteur News that the representatives will be moulded to become better equipped to address issues within their environs.The workshop yesterday, she said, represented a self and leadership forum and was made possible through collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). It saw attended by about 20 barbers and cosmetologists.Cummings pointed out that the aim of the workshops is to build the capacity of the participants who are already collaborating with YCG to carry out a HIV/AIDS programme that targets adolescents.According to her, it is expected that not only will the work of the participants continue but they will in fact be able to uncover ways to sustain themselves even after the YCG programme comes to an end in the near future.She said that the information delivered will serve to aptly boost their capacities to not only address issues relating to HIV, sexually transmitted infections and condom use but also help them to derive fund raising strategies.The whole initiative, Cummings said,Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic, is geared at strengthening the necessary collaborations to ensure that healthy lifestyles are embraced,China NFL Jerseys, hence the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.Yesterday’s session, which was facilitated by Health Consultant, Dr Janise Jackson,Cheap Stitched MLB Jerseys, was intended to develop the skills already adopted by the participants.They were exposed to ways they could effectively take on leadership roles, how to delegate tasks, and how to teach others to trust.And according to several of the participants, they have gained immensely from the YCG initiative and plan on staying the course for a very long time.Speaking with Kaieteur News yesterday, Tracy Bailey, a cosmetologist, said that the whole venture has been very beneficial to her. She explained that until she was able to internalise and understand what was being taught, it was only then that she could have allowed herself to share her new found knowledge.She said that since the project she has learnt a lot and has a burning desire to ensure that people are aware of the realities of HIV/AIDS and how they could protect themselves as well as their loved ones.At yesterday’s workshop, she said that she was even able to understand herself better and has been able to grasp how she could be a leader in her shop and at the same time impact an entire community.In fact, she described her knowledge as ascending and the response rate as very favourable with an approximate 60 per cent of her clients accepting HIV/AIDS information.And then there was Steve Critchlow,Wholesale China NFL Jerseys, a barber, who credited the YCG project with providing him with a lifetime of knowledge to help him better understand the impact that HIV/AIDS could have on an individual, a community and by extension an entire country.Critchlow said that he is now very aware of the importance of using sterile appliances in his shop and today take absolutely no chances with his clients.He disclosed that he is more than happy to be one of the few barbers who now possess the requisite knowledge to sensitise others about HIV/AIDS and other health issues.Yolander Charles, another cosmetologist, said that YCG has succeeded in bringing to the fore issues surrounding a problem that most people thought they understood so well.As for her, it was not until she started to really interact in the sessions that she realised how little she knew and how much information there was available on HIV/AIDS.Charles said that she learnt so much and now sees the importance of sharing information with her clients even as she strives to ensure that she adopts a healthy lifestyle.She said that while there have been some clients who have been open enough to discuss their status, she simply acts as an avenue of information.Barber,Nike NFL Jerseys China, Stephen Birkett, said that he has been on board with the YCG Barbershop/salon venture from its inception and he too has benefited substantially.He, however, admitted that he has been confronted with some challenges along the way and was forced to make some decisions with regards to some clients.Nonetheless,Jerseys From China, Birkett said that with the skills he gained from YCG he believes