The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs has donated over 1500 food hampers to residents of the South Central and Deep South Rupununi to easy the impact of the arid El Nino weather.

According to the Govern-ment Information Agency, thirteen communities were provided with food hampers worth over $3.8M during the period December 29, 2009 to January 4, 2010 by Projects Officers of the Ministry.

The communities were selected based on a previous visit by Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai and a team from the Ministry and Hinterland Coordinator Harripersaud Nokta.

The hampers consisted of red beans, rice, sugar,

farine and cooking oil. The GINA table below shows the communities that received food hampers and the quantity distributed.