Partners of the Americas
Guyana - Mississippi Partnership
CHAPTER: Mississippi
FOUNDED: 1989
OVERVIEW / HISTORY:
The Guyana/Mississippi Partnership was initiated in the late eighties and remains active. The first meeting of the Mississippi Chapter was at Jackson State University. Now the Chapter meets at Tougaloo College, a private Historically Black College located in Tougaloo, Mississippi. Several institutions and businesses continue to be very supportive of the work of the Mississippi Chapter. The Chapter is statewide and continues to recruit members from all over the state. There are also active members of the chapter in Alabama and Arkansas.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- Solid Waste Management Workshop in Guyana - 2001
- Guyanese Artists Exhibition in Jackson, Mississippi- 2002
- In 2002 Chapter Member James Garner won the Dumond Peck Hill Volunteer of the Year Award for his work with sweet potato and cassava farmers in Guyana.
- The Guyana Dairy Development Program in which the Chapter participates is an award-winning program for improving the nutrition of school children in Guyana.
ONGOING ACTIVITIES / PRIMARY CHAPTER INTERESTS:
- Agritourism development in Guyana
- Continued work with Guyanese farmers through the Farmer-to-Farmer Program
- Production of a Brochure on Guyana's Fishes
- Art Exchanges between Guyana and Mississippi
- Collaboration with the University of Guyana
- Development of the 4H program in Guyana
- Working in communites to have school age children continue in school through EDUCARE Anti child labour programme.
COLLABORATING ORGANIZATIONS/SUPPORTERS:
- Mississippi Alternative Energy Enterprise
- Mississippi Consortium for International Development
- Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
- Mississippi State University Extension Service
- Southern Breeze Gallery
- Tougaloo College
- USAID
- US Department of Labour
- Partners of the Americas International.