GUYANA Women’s Leadership Institute (GWLI) on Saturday held its inaugural senior citizens party at the Guyana National Gymnasium.
The elderly citizens came from several communities around Georgetown, and as far as Mocha, Ann’s Grove and Victoria, to be given a Christmas treat from the team at GWLI.

They were given a Christmas gift and a food hamper, and were given the opportunity to dance and sing and meet with other citizens that they haven’t seen in a long time and engage with others they have met for the first time.

GWLI also organised for them to be entertained by Guyanese Soca Queen, Michelle ‘Big Red’ King, and partake in other fun activities to give them the feeling of belonging and usher in the Christmas spirit.
Chairperson of GWLI’s Board Mavis Benn, told the Guyana Chronicle that this activity was organised to give the senior citizens the opportunity to recapture what they would have been partakers of, and to remind them that they have not been forgotten.

“Sometimes we forget our senior citizens of this country and the contributions they’ve made to society. This is an activity to help them realise their efforts and contributions and let them know they have not been forgotten,” Benn said.
She explained that this is the first activity of its kind; however, GWLI has planned to make it an annual activity to continue to bring that feeling of appreciation and spreading the joy of Christmas with the senior citizens of Guyana.

GWLI is a board that is primarily concerned with capacity building and life skill enhancement of women and young girls at every level. It is aimed at creating and implementing gender focused education and training programmes for women and men in the government, non-government, public, and private sectors in order to promote gender awareness and equity and enable the full participation of women in leadership and decision-making processes throughout society, thereby contributing to the equitable and sustainable development of Guyana.