SCORES of volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last Saturday, along with members of various other bodies, came together to execute 14 service projects in observance of ‘International Day of Service.’ All told, government entities, NGOs, faith groups and community organisations donated a total of 30,000 hours of volunteer service.
This initiative was sponsored by ‘Mormon Helping Hands,’ a volunteer branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which along with several other organisations formed part of the combined effort to render service to the community.
In 2011, during the 75th anniversary celebration of the church’s 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 to provide help wherever it is needed.
Heartened at the response, National Director of Public Affairs Rowena Bowen asserts: “We have found support and interest from several other like-minded organisations with whom we share an interest to help others.”
This effort, Bowen says, involved the Children’s Care Centre in Sophia, Georgetown; the Dorfolk Elderly Centre; Virtuous Young Women on a Mission of Linden; Ruimveldt Children’s Care Centre; Lusignan Women’s Organisation; GuySuCo; Green Urban Visionary Home Design and Engineering Associates; the Hugo Chavez Rehab Centre;the Whim Nursery School;the New Amsterdam Hospital; Project Hope; and the Police Traffic Department at Rosignol.
Community Clean-up Initiatives
Meanwhile, Bowen said that the initiative would not be limited to Guyana, but will cover the entire Caribbean Region with over 120 projects in 29 island countries. She says that in Guyana service was centred on community clean-up initiatives in Berbice, Georgetown, Linden, Diamond, Vreed-en-Hoop and La Grange.
The New Amsterdam branch, in collaboration with the New Amsterdam hospital, had a blood drive at Palmyra and painted the bottom of tree trunks and lamp posts to beautify the area. At Bushlot the Number 27 Village bus shed was painted, and there was food distribution in Corriverton, while the pedestrian crossing was painted at Best Road, Vreed-en-Hoop.
Bowen noted that organisers were amazed that the effort was not only for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but it aimed at uniting people of goodwill in a common effort on behalf of other people. (Shirley Thomas)