To assist poor and needy patients to get breast cancer screening, fast food giant, KFC has donated $1M to the Cancer Institute of Guyana (CIG).
According to a press statement, the donation was made in response to letters that were sent out by the CIG to corporate entities, encouraging them to sponsor breast cancer screening packages for their staff members, and poor and needy patients, who, otherwise cannot afford screening. The letters were sent out in light of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
According to the statement, Charissa Rampersaud, Training Manager, along with Madonna Nelson, the General Manager of KFC’s Hick Street branch and Carina Westford, a Human Resources clerk presented the cheque at a simple ceremony in the presence of CIG Outreach Director Dr Syed Ghazi.
The statement said that Ghazi stressed the importance of partnership between communities, the corporate sector, the health care institutions and government to come together and “join hands in fighting this monster called cancer.”
He also mentioned that the CIG has been in the forefront of cancer screening in the country, and related that hundreds of women are screened throughout the year for breast and cervical cancer, and men for prostate cancer.
General Manager of the CIG, Fiona Legall, was also present at the ceremony and expressed gratitude to the fast food franchise for “taking up the mantle as a corporate entity in recognising that breast cancer affects everyone and as part of their corporate social responsibility of sponsoring their staff to be screened.”
The statement said that KFC is one of the first entities to respond with such a substantial donation.
