THE Alpha Children’s Home in New Amsterdam, Berbice and the Save R Kids Children’s Home at Cornelia Ida on the West Coast of Demerara were among seventeen organisations which received, on Friday evening from the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company Limited, early Christmas presents for the children within their care.

The phone company scaled down its lavish Christmas season Night of Caroling to a more formal event, which saw the new approach directly benefiting nearly fifteen hundred children from the combined organisations as the company hosted the GT&T Joy of Christmas 2014 Concert and Gift Presentation, which was held at the Theatre Guild Playhouse in Kingston, Georgetown, Guyana.

The other organisations which received gifts from the phone company for their children were the St. John’s Bosco Boys Orphanage, St. Ann’s Girls Orphanage, Radio’s Needy Children Fund, St. Francis Developers in Berbice, St. Francis in Essequibo, Linden Care Foundation, Joshua Children’s Home, Bright Horizon Family, Red Cross Convalescent Home, Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre, Mahaica Children’s Home, Sophia Drop-in Centre, Hadfield Street Drop-in Centre, Hurunui Children’s Home, Iwokrama, Amerindian Peoples Association, and the Ruimveldt Children’s Home.

In the case of Iwokrama and the Amerindian Peoples Association, the phone company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr R.K Sharma, said that those entities are going to be tasked with distributing the presents to children in Regions 8, 9 and 1, and along the coast respectively.

The Company CEO, in his brief remarks, said the company’s initiative this year around was to ensure that it adopts a more national approach to the giving and spreading of the joys of Christmas to the less fortunate. The company would, in the past, usually facilitate a Night of Caroling which would culminate with gifts being distributed to children who were drawn from mostly communities within Georgetown, even though some persons from outlying areas would make appearances at the event due to the wide publicity it enjoyed back then.

Sharma told the gathering of business executives and other special invitees that the company hopes it can make the presentation even bigger in 2015, servicing more organisations and reaching to many more children as its hopes to continue promoting its nationalistic approach to the season of giving.

Following his presentation to the homes and organizations, Michelle Campbell of Save R Kids Children’s Home used her initiative to congratulate the company for its generous move and express gratitude on behalf of the organisations which had benefited.

The phone company did not reveal the price tag for the presentations, but this publication has received word that that figure is in the millions.
Also, on Friday, the phone company, as part of the concert, brought out its own artistes (former GT&T Jingle and Song participants) who performed for the audience. There were also dances which were performed by GT&T’s partner, Cassique Dance Company. (Leroy Smith)