First Lady, Sandra Granger, on Monday encouraged the residents of the Millicent Greaves Memorial Senior Citizens’ Residence to savour each new day of life and commended the care-givers at the facility for their dedication.
“Each day is a gift to savour and to gather new experiences,” Mrs. Granger said, at a reception hosted by the Residence in collaboration with the Guyana Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists (SDA), to reflect on its five years of existence. The reception, held under the theme, “Lest we forget” was the last in a three-day anniversary programme.
The First Lady said that when she was invited to speak at the function, on the topic of ‘Getting old gracefully’, she was pleased as she believes that “age gives us the serenity to let go of those things, which we cannot change”. She also noted that the Residence has been established at a location, which bears the rich influence of Seventh-Day Adventist church in a small geographic space.
“The dedication, hard work and determination that went into the establishment of this residence are proof of the power of faith and the power of vision. For now we have, standing in close proximity to each other, a place of worship, a hospital and a home for our seniors… all established and run by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church,” Mrs. Granger said.
Leila Eastman said the home was the realisation of a dream and hope of the SDA Church in Guyana for about 29 years. She said that the current site, Lot E, Upper D’urban Street, D’urban Backlands was originally earmarked for the Guyana Conference head office and a youth centre.
However, in 1992, Sister Millicent Greaves, in whose honour the Residence has been named, donated a property to the Guyana Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, which was sold and the proceeds, $500,000 channelled to the building of the residence.
Pastor Exton Clarke, Executive Secretary of the Guyana of Seventh-Day Adventist said plans are in train, within the next year to add another ten rooms to the facility and to hire a full-time licensed care-giver.
