The Beacon Foundation says numerous entities and countless individuals have contributed to it being able to embark on its 22nd year of continuous social welfare service but more work is still to be done.
The administration said it has channelled hundreds of millions of dollars from both local and overseas donors into transforming the lives of the country’s needy persons. The organization was formed in 1985 when several prominent citizens including businessmen Clairmonte Lye, Vickram `Vic’ Oditt, architect Albert Rodrigues, Dr K `Bud’ Mangal and Guyana Publications’ Inc Managing Director Doreen de Caires, decided that they would start a charitable foundation to help to feed and clothe the poor.
In the organisation’s last report Beacon Foundation 20 Years of Service: 1985-2005, Lye said, “The social conditions that existed in Guyana in 1985 can best be described as desperate. Undernourished children, failed medical services, neglect of the indigenous people – these were but a few of the problems of the poor at that time.”
The team decided to establish a fast food restaurant to help them to earn the funds they needed to finance the charity. The foundation said, “At first we sought donations from the business community but there was little response.” It said “Providentially, CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) provided Beacon with a grant of Can$50,000 to purchase all the equipment for the kitchen and snackettes” and they utilised the expertise of members in the restaurant business to set up a food catering business and used the surplus generated to finance the building costs.
The organisation’s first snackette, which was opened in 1987 on rented premises in Water Street, was an immediate success. After that property was bought by John Fernandes Limited, rent free tenure allowed it to reach ten years of service. The foundation’s success persuaded the team to venture out once again and a second snackette was opened in February 1988 in Avenue of the Republic on another rent-free site provided by Central Garage Limited. This condition continued for nine years. In June 1990, the third snackette was opened at the foundation site on Carmichael Street and at the same time provided employment for about 100 persons. Hemraj Kissoon, in the report compiled in observance of the foundation’s 20th anniversary, said “In view of the Foundation’s charitable objectives, “The Kissoon Group of Companies” decided to sell the property in Carmichael Street to the Foundation