THE Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) was founded on July 1st, 1979 in order to perform the duties of a community organisation which is a requirement of every Muslim community. In Islamic tradition “If some Muslims bury the dead body, it would absolve the rest of the community from this obligation” As can be seen, the burial of deceased Muslims is a very important aspect of our work and a special hearse department has been developed within the organisation to deal with this mandatory duty.

The CIOG hearse department has two main objectives:
1. To facilitate the poor and needy in all aspects with funeral arrangements i.e providing cotton, coffin, bathing supplies, digging of graves, advice to the bereaved family and providing transportation.

2. To assist Muslims with making and implementing decisions made by the deceased family members.

The CIOG, in its effort to continue to provide and cater for the needs of the poor and needy of our society, has acquired a new hearse to complement its ongoing burial services.  This service is provided including Janaza (funeral prayer) to all Muslims regardless of their financial circumstances, and in the case of the poor and indigent is provided free of cost. Over the last three years, 536 burials were handled, of which 53 were free of cost, and 98 were partly paid for by the relatives.

This generous donation was made possible through the intervention of our kind brother, Osama Qasmi, the local representative of Mehran Trading Co. Ltd., who has donated a Mazda Bongo minibus.

The CIOG extends its heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the Mehran Trading Co. Ltd., and Osama Qasmi for this donation, which will assist the CIOG in fulfilling its mandate to help the people of Guyana.