FACT Group
Fighting, Abstinence, Consciousness, Togetherness.
Making an impact on the commercial sex trade

The acronym FACT stands for Fighting, Abstinence, Consciousness, Togetherness. In abstract, the words are compelling enough, but it is the practice of the group functioning under that name that carries a certain distinction, especially in the Upper Corentyne region, that borders Guyana and Suriname.

FACT is a group that works closely with commercial sex workers (CSWs) in an effort to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.

The brainchild of Sunita Jaundoo who is currently in charge, the group aims to provide education, guidance and support to persons in the community so as to effectively aid in the prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It was founded in 2002 and currently has a membership of 26, comprising youths mainly from Numbers 78 and 79 Villages, Upper Corentyne. The group’s work covers the Number 43 Village to Corriverton, a stretch of about 25 miles, as well as the Orealla/Siparutu riverain community. It takes about six hours by river to get to Orealla/Siparatu from Corriverton.

The relatively young organisation is a member of the Friends of St. Francis group.

“In an effort to strengthen our base, to learn and to grow as an organisation, it is vital that we develop links with other groups that have been around for quite a long period of time and that have the know-how to get things done. That formed the basis of the club’s decision to become affiliated with St. Francis. St Francis has been around for about 20 years and is known nationally and internationally for the work that it has been doing, so we thought it would be a good idea to become affiliated with them,” FACT Vice President Stanton Grant said.

Sunita added that the group has benefited tremendously from its association with St. Francis, in the areas of capacity building and networking with persons in “high places.”

“Alex (Foster) helped us to see our potential. One of the greatest benefits of being involved with St. Francis is that it gives us the extra push that we need,” she said, pointing out that at times they were doing “what we thought was right and good, but then we could have done much better. St. Francis brought that out in us.”

The group’s focus is based on the fact that prostitution is one of the two major problems in that section of the Upper Corentyne.

“We are working with the commercial sex workers, educating them to become peer educators themselves,” Sunita said. The club works in nine “business places” – brothels and hotels -with a group of about 30 CSWs. Members also work on a one-on-one basis with CSWs and men who have sex with men (MSM).

The problem with working with these categories of persons, Sunita explained, is that they are not always at the local brothels and hotels. They shift their areas of operation, she said, pointing out that they travel to Georgetown and other areas in Berbice. More often than not, however, the CSWs cross the nearby border into Suriname to ply their trade.

FACT teaches the CSWs about condom use, gives them practical demonstrations about the correct use of condoms and encourages active participation. They are also educated on person hygiene and taught how to examine their breasts for signs of cancer. FACT also assists with Home Based Care (HBC) for those persons who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

“They are very receptive to our teaching. We have a good relationship with the CSWs. With the men, they are shy, so we deal with the specific persons; they’re opening a bit now…” Sunita said.

Anthony Frank, Sunita’s husband and the current liaison to the CSWs, said many of them are ignorant of the dangers of their trade. Claiming success in the group’s activities, Frank indicated that the CSWs would oftentimes call on FACT to have a meeting, particularly when new prostitutes arrive on the scene. They are also responding well to testing for STIs, he said.

The responses from the proprietors of the “businesses” have also been good, FACT members report.

Their pioneering work has earned them role model status in the country for the CSWs programme. Swing Star Community Developers – another Friend of St. Francis - and FACT are currently partnering with Guyana HIV/AIDS Reduction Programme (GHARP) to implement another CSW project.

The group is currently working with USAID/GHARP on a multi-million dollar project to address the deficiencies of the CSWs and MSM. Under the project, the two categories of persons will be equipped with life skills to reduce their dependence on prostitution. FACT is working on this CSWs programme in conjunction with the Swing Star Community Developers.

The other problem the communities face is lack of job opportunities to cater to the needs of the low academic achievement of residents. In an effort to raise the literacy standard, members of the group started outreach sessions on a “bottom-house basis”, in neighbouring communities, and through school visits, educating the youths generally, and about HIV/AIDs and other risks in particular.

The group’s remedial classes currently cater for about 45 slow achievers and school dropouts between the ages of 8 and 14. Currently, there are three Surinamese children of Guyanese parentage enrolled in their programme.

According to Stanton, education is not of prime importance to members of the communities they serve. It’s a cycle bred by poverty that the group is now trying desperately to break, and they are reporting some success.

“Poverty breeds the illiteracy in these communities. You see, Skeldon was founded on illegal trade and activities. It was all about getting a quick dollar and that is somehow the psyche of most of the persons living in this area. So it means that education and personal development plays less of a significant role, both in terms of the home and even at the community at large. So persons generally drop out of school at a very early age, either to get involved in family business or to go look for meaningful employment. And for those who do neither of the two, the sole factor for not (seeking education) is that education is not a big thing in the family. They may already have the money, so they stay home.

“So what you find happening, is that incrementally, the numbers are increasing whereby there is a steady slow growth in terms of illiteracy. So more and more young people are functional illiterates. They can get around but simple things they hardly comprehend; they can’t read properly. That is the base of the problem; that is one of the reasons why the group decided to become involved in the remedial classes, so that the smaller children can have that foundation.

Sunita added that the programme has become so popular – through recommendation by teachers, and by the communities’ grapevines- that children would visit the club’s Corriverton headquarters for assistance with their homework.

“But when we try to help them, we realise that they don’t know how to spell their names or write (numerals); they don’t know the letters of the alphabet; some can spell one of their names but don’t know the other… So it’s a real sad situation here…,’ she related.

The club, through the auspices of St. Francis, is currently in negotiations with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation and the Social Impact Amelioration Programme (SIMAP) to conduct Life Skills Training in the area of bamboo craft production.

The plan, according to founder member Tayab Ally, is for the Ministry to extend to FACT the expertise in bamboo craft that it has at its disposal. The Ministry had sent a group of persons for training in China, and that group is expected to train other members of society in bamboo furniture-making. The community members will, in turn, make a livelihood out of it, using its point of advantage near the border to capture the Suriname market. Swing Star Community Developers, which has equipment that is under-utilised, will implement the project, along with FACT. A complete workshop with joinery equipment is housed at Swing Star, an investment from the President’s Youth Choice Initiative.

A `street-wise’ component is also included in the club’s activities. Under this component, club members go into communities to talk about topics such as inappropriate touching, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. There are monthly television progammes dealing with social issues and FACT also works along with church groups to reach as wide an audience as possible. In addition, the club also feeds about 150 children weekly. Food for the Poor provides foodstuff for the group to give hampers to about 200 pensioners in the communities.

Through their association with St. Francis, the group has adopted eight families whose members are provided with the tools to help them to establish small businesses.