Skills centre set up at Canje

The New Jersey Arya Samaj Mandir Inc (NJASMI) wrapped up its annual humanitarian mission in Guyana after three weeks of assisting the less fortunate, setting up skills centres, hosting fundraising activities and a blood drive.

President of the NJASMI, Pandit Suresh Sugrim told Stabroek News that this year in addition to its usual activities the group collaborated with the Guyana Central Arya Samaj Humanitarian Mission to create avenues for persons to help themselves. The Samaj Humanitarian Mission is headed by Dr Ramesh Sugrim of Williamsburg, Corentyne.

Further, in collaboration with Food For the Poor (FFP) the groups established a skills training centre at the Reliance Vedic Mandir in Canje, to which they donated a number of stoves and sewing machines to empower women, especially early school leavers. The items were handed over at a simple ceremony hosted at the Mandir recently.

The centre intends to offer sewing, cooking and craft production and based on its success, it would receive more donations. Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony and FFP Executive Director Leon Davis attended the ceremony.

Also, in his quest to “help persons to help themselves,” a stove was also handed over to the Guyanese Women in Development (GUYWID) group in New Amsterdam. Sugrim also presented a quantity of tools and other items to the youths at Kuru Kuru, Linden last Friday to enhance their trade. He had travelled to the area with Anthony for the graduation ceremony for about 150 youths who attended training camps.

The NJASMI also embarked on a housing project through the FFP organization, which committed to building three houses. The first house was handed over to Iris Latchman of Rose Hall Town, Corentyne earlier this month.

Latchman and three of her four children who are “mentally challenged” resided in a dilapidated wooden structure for several years. The building was knocked off its pillars during heavy winds in April and the family stayed temporarily in a makeshift room below a relative’s house. After learning of the family’s plight, the NJASMI committed to building a house for them. At a brief handing over ceremony, Latchman said she was grateful to the two organizations for the one-flat concrete house. Davis and Minister of Human Services, Priya Manickchand attended the ceremony.

The NJASMI which raises funds yearly in New Jersey through a major family entertainment concert held a fundraising activity in Guyana for the first time. The activity, a live comedy show – ‘Laugh till Yuh Belly Burst’ – was held at the Albion Community Centre Ground. The cast included New York-based Guyanese while local dance troupes and reigning chutney queen, Girly Persaud performed at the fete. Sugrim said thousands of persons attended the “afternoon of laughter and entertainment” and that it was held to “make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate and all the money generated would stay in Guyana.” He said too they priced adult tickets at $300 while children entered without cost in order to encourage a large number of patrons.

Sugrim said too for the first time since its 2005 start the mission participated in a blood drive in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. More than 50 donors were mobilized to donate a pint of blood each.

He said the idea for the drive came about after a woman asked the organisation to buy a unit of blood for her. He said instead he decided to donate the blood to her and had a chance to meet with health minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy at the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Meanwhile, the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce which is in the process establishing a fire service at the Rose Hall, Corentyne also received a boost of $100,000 from the organization. An overseas-based resident gave a further contribution of $600,000 to the CCCC towards the project. The NJASMI made other ‘small scale’ donations including giving a sewing machine to Letter Kenny resident Sattie Sankar, a single mother of four and disposable diapers, a stroller and stove to Canefield, Canje resident Hameeda Bacchus, the mother four-month-old triplets. Pampers were also donated to a handicapped child, which were donated by the International Pharmaceutical Agency.

Four students were also given bicycles to alleviate the burden they faced in getting to school. “We want to break the chains of poverty through the power of education. We learnt that some of the students were not attending school because they could not afford it and we tried to change that…”
Meanwhile Sugrim called on persons who “are desperately in of help to need” to contact his brother at his Williamsburg clinic.