(Feature address at 20th anniversary luncheon – Henry B Jeffrey, Pegasus Hotel, 28th September, 2014)
I thank Ms Yvonne Hinds and the Guyana Relief Council for inviting me to say a few words on this the 20th anniversary of the organisation.
Two decades after its registration as an non-governmental organisation, the GRC is still here fulfilling its vision of providing nondiscriminatory help to Guyanese when they are most in need. This despite Ms Hinds’ protestations when I first broached the possibility of her managing this institution in 1993! Tenacity and the willingness and capacity to work with others across the social divide are most important if organisations such as these are to flourish. Indeed, in our type of countries, the capacity to cooperate in this manner, is a sine qua non for national prosperity.
After the PPP/C’s victory in 1992, I became Senior Minister of Labour, Human Services and Social Security with Ms Indra Chandrapaul as minister within the ministry. The ministry was responsible for youths, woman, the elderly, cooperatives, social security and the many departments contained in the labour sector. The then National Relief Committee, the forerunner of the Guyana Relief Council, was a department in the
