Pupils of the St Mary’s Nursery School in New Amsterdam as well as single mothers of Angoy’s Avenue were elated when they received a quantity of items on Tuesday from the Benschop Foundation.
The school was presented with over 300 books worth over $40,000 as well as a quantity of games.
Benschop Foundation head Mark Benschop told this newspaper that the donation was made possible through Galee and Leslyn Khan, the owners of Children’s World store at the Courtyard Mall, 77 Robb Street, Georgetown.
Clive Prowell, manager of Children’s World told this newspaper that the mission of the store “is all about helping out the kids and anything that Children’s World can do to help we usually venture into that.”
Benschop expressed appreciation to Children’s World and to the management of Game Xpress for affording the foundation a “major discount” for the items.
Accompanied by the team, he then visited the Angoy’s Avenue area and donated a quantity of food items and female and children’s clothing to single mothers in the area.
The items, he said were provided to the foundation by Pamela and Vivian Leonard of VLJ Travel, Bronx, New York.
He made an appeal on behalf of the residents for the authorities to develop the area and put in lights and proper roads. He urged the authorities to “put petty things behind and put the country first” and to recognize that the residents are human beings.
The next visit was to the New Amsterdam Prison where he donated baby food and clothing worth $40,000 – compliments of an overseas-based woman – to a prisoner, 26-year-old Shellon Carrol for her four-month-old baby.
Carrol who was sentenced to four years imprisonment for trafficking in narcotics has already served one year. She gave birth while in prison and Benschop asked that President Bharrat Jagdeo “give this woman and other women in her position a chance; everybody makes mistakes…”
He said the President should intervene to have the sentence reduced for women in such positions or “pardon them” as it is “not only the mother doing the time but the baby as well.”
He said the objective of the Benschop Foundation is to offer some hope of survival to the people especially the children so they can live in dignity.
According to him the foundation “is not about discriminating and some members/donors include a wide cross-section of local and overseas-based Guyanese.
He expressed gratitude to the United Brick Layer’s Youth Club for assisting and to former mayor of New Amsterdam, Errol Alphonso for his contribution. He also said that interested businesspersons are free to contact him on 644-2635 to make donations to the foundation.
