THE Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Georgetown has made a significant donation to the disability community here, which, like theirs back home in China, is just as huge.

Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Chinese Embassy Chen Xilai gave the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD) equipment worth about US$7,000 that will prove to be of invaluable assistance to the disability community.
Xilai made the presentation, inclusive of wheelchairs, white canes for the blind, walkers, and radios, at the Guyana Society for the Blind, on High Street, Georgetown.

The GCOPD is the umbrella body which represents all disability organisations in Guyana. The donation, therefore, will be distributed to the member agencies for them to in turn give to their members.

Executive member of the society, Ganesh Singh, said it was a significant donation by the embassy and explained that the GCOPD will contact all disability organisations so that they can submit a list of names of persons in need. “We would not just send it and then they wouldn’t use it, so based on their need, that’s how we’ll distribute.”

The President of GCOPD approached Xilai last year and revealed the difficulties that are plaguing those in the disability community. “As a country with over 18 million people who are disabled, we have the same kind of feeling. In China, we say that we have to make everybody enjoy the benefits of modernisation and urbanisation and of development. So the Chinese Government has provided a lot of assistance to those persons,” Xilai told this publication at the society. He recalled that China and Guyana established diplomatic relations in 1972 and have maintained good relations. China has since contributed in Guyana with respect to infrastructure, trade, and public health. Cooperation also exists between the two countries in other sectors, such as with the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force.

“The population size of disabled persons in Guyana is very large compared to its population. It is very important for the persons to gain access to education; and we wanted to help them build up their confidence, so they can enjoy the development of the country as oil and gas is [sic] coming. So they should get prepared for that,” Xilai expressed.

It is for this reason that when the GCOPD President requested help, the embassy did not hesitate to respond, and Xilai said more help will be forthcoming in future. June Herod from the Ministry of Education, Unit for the Blind and Visually impaired, was also present at the presentation ceremony.