Salvation Army’s red kettles will be seen and its bells heard across Guyana beginning today, with the launch of its annual Christmas appeal.
At a ceremony yesterday at the Georgetown Club on Camp Street, President Bharrat Jagdeo, under whose patronage the launch was held, was presented with the Major Vilo Exantus award for his outstanding philanthropic contribution to that organisation over the years.
Delivering the feature address, Jagdeo charged Guyanese to contribute to the Salvation Army’s cause, which he stated was not only well accounted for, but impacted the lives of many, whose roles sometimes changed from givers to receivers because of uncontrollable financial constraints. He said the organisation has over the decades contributed significantly in bringing out the social humanistic side of Guyanese.
However, Jagdeo lamented the changes recently in these acts of giving. He pointed out that although Guyana had seen growth economically—evidence of this, he said, were the many homes being built and persons living more productive lives—the growth in giving to charitable organisations like the Salvation Army remained stagnant to declining.
It appeared, he said, that persons in today’s world are ruled by economic relations and not by the goodness of heart or God. The Salvation Army was then used as a yardstick by which persons may measure unselfish acts, with the president giving examples of the tireless efforts of Salvation Army workers, as they provide relief to many Guyanese.
He also urged private sector businesses to give willingly to the Salvation Army kettles as that organisation strives to close the gap between those who have and those who have not. He joked that evidence of larger taxes are noted in the tax returns of those businesses that illustrate financial growth, so there was no way businesses could say that monies were not available.
The president ended by pledging his commitment both monetarily and otherwise even when he leaves office.
Salvation Army kettles will be located at various places across Guyana for the entire Christmas season. Donations collected during the red kettle campaign account for over 50 percent of the organisation’s annual budget and provide assistance to thousands as they attempt to put their lives back together depending on the misfortunes meted to them by faith. All bell ringers are volunteers of the organisation.
In a public plea, officials of the charitable army asked that as persons see the red kettles they give of their best, since not only will they be positively impacting the lives of others but they will also keep the cycle of “as you give freely you get.”
