As the Government prepares to roll out its co-investment initiative for care centres across the country, Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud has revealed that more than 700 individuals and organisations have already registered to participate in the programme. She made the revelation on Wednesday during the second National Early Childhood Development Conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) under the theme “It Takes a Village: Uniting Hearts and Minds for Early Childhood”. Some 718 of the applications came from individuals, while the other submissions came from groups.

“If you have not yet registered, what are you waiting for…?” the Minister said, noting that anyone can apply. “NGOs [non-Governmental organisations], faith-based organisations, and persons who want to form a group in their community can also apply,” she said. In fact, the Minister pointed out the Government has set aside over $1 billion to invest in this initiative.

“The Government of Guyana has invested $1.2 billion towards this initiative to ensure that in communities across all the regions of Guyana, there will be home and community-based care centres… we’re co-investing with you; if you have a space, we’re going to help you ensure that that space is safe and ready for children,” she noted.