Dear Editor,
For three days from June 28 to 30 the Stichting Suriname Hindu Guyanese Cultural Organization Shiv Shakti Samadj (SHGCO) celebrated their 25th Anniversary. The three-day Yajna was a major success and was attended by approximately 1200 people. The SHGCO was formed a few years before 1988, but was officially registered in 1988 by Jairam Ghir, Sanco Bhuddhu and Eliah Krishna Sammy, and it was founded to uplift the significant Guyanese population socially, culturally and religiously. Several groups and organizations from the United States of America, India, China and Brazil have visited the Shiv Shakti Samadj Mandir to conduct seminars and presentations.
Throughout its history this organization has been called upon on many occasions by the Embassy of Guyana and various organizations to assist in the planning and execution of cultural events. The SHGCO supports the elderly with monetary assistance and helps with the arrangements for momentous events in people’s lives, such as weddings, funerals, etc.
The list of the special invitees to the celebration included Guyana’s Ambassador to Suriname Keith George, Roland King and Stuart Strange, among dozens of others.
Ambassador George was invited to address the invitees on the first night of the Yajna, and spoke of the significant achievement of the SHGCO celebrating its 25th Anniver-sary. He referred to the achievements of Guyanese in Suriname and of the many whose immigration papers were not regularized. Consequently they were living as second class citizens, and more importantly their children were not getting the appropriate education.
All members and well-wishers should be very proud of the longevity of SHGO, especially considering that in Suriname there has been a proliferation of cultural organizations. In some extreme cases individuals who are not happy with one organization or do not get their own way go organization hopping, registering new names with the same old mandates and charters. To have lasted this long makes the SHGCO even more unique in the annals of Surinamese-Guyanese organizations.
While the SHGCO may not have grown financially because this is not an objective, they have far exceeded expectations in their community and beyond. The SHGCO has about 80 active families and over 250 individual members.
The SHGCO is very pleased with the way the Surinamese and Guyanese community supported this three day Yajna. The society feels empowered to go forward with new and exciting plans in the near future.
Yours faithfully,
Haimdat Sawh
Shiv Shakti Samadji Mandir
