Mormons, volunteers render massive community service

GUYANA was among Caribbean countries joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) in performing massive community service last Saturday as part of the church’s designated “International Day of Service.”

The Day of Service is part of a world-wide programme sponsored by the Church to provide communities with a vital resource: Donated human labour. On that day, literally thousands of members teamed up with community organisations to engage in community clean-ups and other humanitarian initiatives.

Volunteers of all ages, including Mormons from The Dominican Republic and other Caribbean territories, last Saturday, decked in yellow vests emblazoned with the slogan “Mormon Helping Hands,” joined hands and hearts with various community organisations, to render service to benefit the various communities in which they were undertaken.

The yellow-vested volunteers, wielding shovels, pickaxes, hammers, brushes, brooms, plastic bags and other tools, engaged in community projects organised by over 200 Mormon congregations throughout the respective countries. In many cases, projects were undertaken with partner organisations and individuals nationwide that share a common interest in community service.

Regionally, the projects included cleaning public parks; removing litter from beaches; beautifying community buildings; gathering food for the poor and needy; vaccination campaigns; blood donation drives; reforestation; medical clinics; assisting the elderly; and many other community-oriented activities.

Guyana Projects

But here in Guyana, the service was largely centred on community clean-up initiatives. Five projects were undertaken and in a fine show of solidarity, volunteers braved a heavy downpour to get the job done.

* Middleton/Duncan: Cleaning of Middleton Street, all the way down to Duncan Street by Church members, in collaboration with the Lions Club of Georgetown.
* Queenstown: Cleaning of the area around the Demerara Cricket Club ground in Queenstown – undertaken by the Caribbean Youth Environment Network along with members of the church
* Houston: Cleaning the area along the main Houston thoroughfare, all the way to the Houston School: done by the Bernice Mansell Foundation.
* Canje Bridge: The Canje branch worked along with the Police Traffic Department, painting over the lines along the Canje Bridge.

* At New Amsterdam, the Fire Department teamed up with members of the church to repair the swing and seesaw and also cleaned up the compound of the St Mary’s Nursery School.

The “Hands and Hearts” International Day of Service is a Caribbean-wide, community tradition that was initiated in The Dominican Republic last year. The goal is to provide help wherever needed.

“As Christians, we are called to follow Christ’s example of serving others,” said Rafael G. Gutierrez, Director of Public Affairs of the church.

He added: “The vision for this day of service was to partner with like-minded individuals and organisations, uniting efforts to meet community needs.”

The release said 74 projects of various kinds have been submitted. All are to be carried out with labour and materials donated by members of each local community, including church members, local authorities and a wide range of partner organisations.

“The only compensation volunteers will receive is seeing the smiling faces of those that have been helped, a sense of satisfaction in knowing that pressing needs have been met, and a feeling of shared accomplishments as fellow citizens of the community,” added Mr. Gutierrez.

About the International Day of Service

In 2011, during the 75th anniversary celebration of the Church Welfare Programme, Henry B. Eyring —one of the global leaders of the Church—issued a challenge to all Mormons throughout the world to spend one day in a massive effort to serve others and provide help wherever it is needed; indeed, a Day of Service.

Since then, the more than 29,000 congregations of Mormons worldwide devote a special day of service each year to voluntarily help others in their communities. Millions of hours are donated annually.

In The Dominican Republic, the first Day of Service was held in 2013 with more than 50 long-term projects initiated, and this year more than 100 additional projects are expected nationwide.

The “Mormon Helping Hands,” a volunteer initiative that partners with other community organisations to carry out the Day of Service projects, is one of the largest volunteer organisations in the world, with some 15 million members. It is known for its disaster-relief work worldwide.