REAFFIRMING its commitment to transforming the lives of Guyanese, the Guyana Foundation on Tuesday hosted a press conference and luncheon to shed light on its accomplishments and future projects.

The meeting was held at the New Thriving Restaurant conference room and was attended by its founder, trustees, team members and members of the diplomatic corps.
According to founder, Supriya Singh-Bodden, the Guyana Foundation is a registered charitable trust with the goal of offering skills training courses and mental health training to those most in need.

Three young women, Zohise Harris, Neateefa John and Candacie Calistro were invited to tell their stories of how they became involved with the foundation and how it has helped to transform their lives.

Prior to getting into contact with the foundation, the women said they were hopeless, depressed, had low self-esteem and harboured suicidal thoughts. Guyana now has the second highest rate of suicides in the world.
Several in the audience were moved to tears by the experiences recounted, but were comforted by a message of hope, new-found happiness and transformation which concluded their stories.
Singh-Bodden said Guyana’s serious mental health problem influenced the establishment of the foundation’s Sunrise Centre, which serves to provide support services to at-risk individuals.

The term “sunrise” was chosen as a means of encouraging Guyanese to want to “wake up to see another sunrise.”
In 2016, the first centre was launched in Essequibo and, with additional funding, the foundation hopes to establish other centres on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, in Berbice and in other regions of Guyana.
“We did not know what the impact of this would be. We did not know if when we opened the gates of that Sunrise Centre if anyone would come. But what has happened to us is that the community has embraced it fully, it is now their centre,” Singh-Bodden said.
To date, 126 adults have graduated from the centre in Essequibo, 81 police cadets were trained in mental health awareness and over 300 children benefited from after-school and summer school programmes.

Additionally, the Guyana Foundation has in its future projects, plans to introduce sports, drama and dance workshops to remote communities and empowerment projects which target women.
Meanwhile, craft and bakery production are in the pipeline for indigenous villages and are aimed at generating additional incomes to families residing away from the hub of the coastland.

In 2017, Scotia Bank (Guyana) donated US$36,000 to the foundation as part of its Community Programme which Scotiabank Marketing Manager Jennifer Cipriani said she will work towards renewing in the future.
“Listening to the stories [of the women] made me realise that we didn’t just give money, we gave hope to many persons…. I know our contract ends this year and I am definitely going to be applying for funding to support the programme — at least for the next few years,” she said.
Meanwhile, executive member of the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) Eric Phillips, who is also a trustee of the foundation, expressed appreciation to Scotia Bank and others who continue to assist.

Other trustees of the foundation are proprietor of the New Thriving Restaurant Jian Ping Che and Chief Executive Officer of Mings Products and Services Limited, Stanley Ming.
The foundation offers free courses in cosmetology, catering, tailoring, craft, electrical repairs, music, dance, information technology, fabric design, wedding planning, massage techniques, make-up artistry and soap and cream-making.