The Guyana Foundation has moved to supply food and medical supplies, including masks, to residents of Santa Rosa, in Region One, who are in need of assistance due to the impact of the current CIVID-19 pandemic.
The Foundation said that its first shipment of supplies left Charity, Essequibo, for Santa Rosa on Friday.
In a release, the Foundation noted that it has worked in Santa Rosa since 2013, including in providing better drinking water and toilet facilities for the Primary school students and providing supplies to the dormitory where many children from outlying areas stay to attend school. It has also donated to the secondary school.
According to the Foundation, Toshao Whanita Phillips explained that the village was desperately in need of assistance as villagers have minimal funds, and with the village being remotely located, transportation if any, is very expensive. The deficit in sanitising products and masks was noted in particular.
The release reported Foundation founder Supriya Singh-Bodden as saying that in order to facilitate the relief efforts, the Foundation has put on hold a new sewing center it was about to open and has instead redirected funds to sew masks and provide other supplies to the villagers.
The release added that Guyana Foundation team members Meena, Punesh, Deowattie, Ranie, and Gloria worked unceasingly at the Foundation’s Sunrise Centre, practicing social distancing protocols to complete the sewing and packaging of masks.
It also noted that the Foundation has also provided psychological support for the residents during this time, while noting that its trained counsellors—Madonna Adams Paul, and Miriam Hinds— have volunteered their time to assist those in such need, while Krish Nath of the British Association of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy has been remotely counselling persons from the village.
The release quotes Singh-Bodden as saying, “I am very encouraged and inspired by all of the goodness that exists among the majority of the people of Guyana. We are a great people, we are loving, caring and a God fearing people, these difficulties too shall pass and our nation will be well again. Let us all keeping praying and keep hope alive.”
