21 girls escape Guyana Children’s home after brawl, police hunt for 9 still missing

Guyana: In a shocking development, a total of 21 girls housed at Unity, ECD Children’s Home escaped after alleged brawl which took place on Wednesday evening. According to the information, the girls had a fight inside the facility and broke out of the home and compound, harassing the guard on duty before escaping. 

It is said that with the help of Police from Cover, John and Mahaica in Guyana, 12 of the girls were reportedly interception at Victoria village while walking.  

Police said that the search is on for the remaining girls and police are conducting thorough investigations to locate them.  

Notably, the facility is managed by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and it houses girls from troubled backgrounds. Rehabilitation programs are also offered to help them overcome their challenges and transition back into society. 

With 9 girls till on the large, police are urging individuals to be on the lookout and alert the authorities should they suspect they have come across any of the missing girls.  

The incident has also sparked outrage among the locals as feminists are voicing their concerns saying that these young girls are not prisoners and they should not be treated as such.  

A local named Bonita Montaque noted that over the decades, she has served at most of the children homes in Guyana and while it should be an alternative support home where development and rehabilitation occurs, sometimes the conditions are in need of so much improvement as well as reforms itself.  

She continued to say that, “The label of troubled children is troublesome to me and has been for decades. Many children finds themselves rebelling to child sexually abuse in their respective family setting, communities and religious institutions and taken to these homes to commence the transitional process but becomes victims again.” 

She further the officials not to take any strict action against the girls and let them do whatever they want to.