A group of Lodge residents, formally known as the Lodge Housing Scheme Beautification Group, yesterday distributed 25 large hampers to vulnerable members of the community in their effort to ease the impact resulting from the shutdown due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The Chairman of the organisation, Rawle Fraser, related to Stabroek News that while the purpose for the formation of the group was not to participate in health aid, because of the urgency and the desperate situation, it was thought best to help out in whatever way necessary.
“Well we had started the group for the sole [purpose of the] beautification of the community, but we decided to do this to [help out] the vulnerable persons in the community,” he explained.
Fraser revealed that the group identified those vulnerable as single parent households, senior citizens, and those who were left unemployed due to the closure of several business entities across the country.
Attorney Mayo Robertson, who is also a founding member of the group which has been in existence for a little over a year, told Stabroek News that the group has been involved in other activities such as providing sporting equipment for the youth in the community. He also listed projects that the group wishes to complete in the near future. “One of our long term goals is to improve the passages that are connecting our community [and] we plan to build two bridges [because] our bridges have been in a poor shape for a very long time,” he said.
Robertson expressed his faith that members of the community would come on board so that more persons can benefit from the initiative.
“This is our first time doing something of this nature, and hopefully the people of the community are going to recognise that this is an effort worth supporting, and then we may be able to spread out and reach further,” he said.
A 78-year-old member of the community, who was among the 25 recipients of a hamper, expressed her gratitude towards the group for their efforts. “I feel very happy. Only yesterday I was saying that my old friends are getting hampers from other churches and so but we weren’t getting anything on this end so I’m very happy that they did this,” she chuckled.
The senior citizen, who wished not to be named, explained how hard it has been since the lockdown was instituted. “I feel like I’m too locked in, but I understand why I really have to be locked in. But I sometimes have to go outside to get some fresh air, even if it’s just for five minutes,” she said.
The hampers distributed consist of food items and supplies necessary to prevent the contraction of COVID-19. The community group hope to expand their reach and assist those vulnerable in other communities.
