U.S. Embassy in push to empower local women activists

U.S. Ambassador Brent Hardt, in meeting two Guyanese women activists, Mignon Bowen and Simone Morris-Ramlall, on Thursday, October 6, emphasised that the American State Department considers a priority foreign policy issues and activities relating to the political, economic, and social advancement of women.

These two women were selected by the United States Embassy to participate in international visitor programmes in mid-October – one on breast cancer awareness and outreach, and the other on women’s leadership and political participation.

Bowen is chairperson of the Avon Community Help Fund established in 2005 to implement small-scale community-based projects for breast cancer awareness and education, and Morris- Ramlall provides free legal counselling and services to clients at the Guyana Legal Aid Clinic. The women shared information about their respective organizations and their efforts to empower women in Guyana.

Bowen will participate in the State Department’s Multi- Regional Programme on Breast Cancer Awareness and Outreach, from October 10 to 28, 2011. This programme will provide opportunities for 30 or more participants to interact with U.S. healthcare practitioners, and participate in activities during October – Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The group will discuss international partnerships in breast cancer awareness, public health campaigns, and advocacy initiatives by non-governmental organisations and national associations.

The programme will also highlight the latest scientific research in breast cancer prevention and treatment.

Bowen, the primary breast cancer awareness advocate liaising with the local Health Ministry, is responsible for preparing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the fund’s yearly work plan and Breast Cancer Awareness Month activities. She teaches breast self-examination as a cost-free method of early diagnosis.

Bowen is currently working to establish a breast cancer support centre for newly-diagnosed patients, recovering survivors, and family members.

Empowering women

Simone Morris-Ramlall is an attorney-at-law. She will be involved with the Voluntary Visitors’ Programme on Women’s Leadership and Political Participation (IVLP) sponsored by the State Department, from October 10-19, 2011. Under the sub-regional project for the Caribbean, participants will visit the United States to examine how international, national, and local organisations serve, protect, and empower women in all facets of daily life – from the home front to community, civic, and political participation. The majority of Morris- Ramlall’s clients are underprivileged women, so her participation in the programme will enable her to better represent her clients.

She is the vice president of the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers which hosts projects that support, educate, and empower women.

The International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) is the flagship professional exchange programme of the State Department. It annually brings to the United States approximately 5,000 foreign nationals from all over the world, to meet and confer with their professional counterparts and to experience America firsthand. The visitors are current or potential leaders in government, politics, the media, education, the arts, business, and other fields. Among the thousands of distinguished individuals who have participated in the IVLP since its inception almost seven decades ago are more than 290 current and former chiefs of state and heads of government, 2000 cabinet-level ministers, and several other distinguished leaders from the public and private sectors. More than 100 Guyanese nationals have participated in IVLPs over the years.

The Voluntary Visitor (Volvis) Programme offers individuals selected by U.S. embassies the opportunity to meet and confer with their professional counterparts throughout the United States, in order to obtain a broader view of American culture, society, and politics. The Volvis programme generally lasts from two to 14 days.