–with the Seniors of the Ogle-Industry-Cummings Lodge Catchment Area

By Wendella Davidson

CHRISTMAS is a time for giving, sharing and putting a smile on the faces of the less fortunate and those who have made their contribution, to community and country, in their more productive years; and that’s exactly what the Ogle-Industry-Cummings Lodge, Senior Citizens’ Organising Committee has been doing for 66 years.
The initiative was the brainchild of the Kartick brothers and began in 1954 when they donated food to six less-fortunate members who were identified, from within the three communities identified above, as deserving of such assistance. Since then, the venture has been a yearly event and the number of beneficiaries keeps increasing.
The event is usually held on the Sunday before Christmas, but, this year, it was convened on Sunday December 15, 2019, with a total of 250 men and women as the beneficiaries. The venue was the Cummings Lodge Secondary School auditorium where, after an enjoyable cultural programme, each senior collected two bags filled with foodstuff worth about $16,000, along with $10, 000 cash.

Featured on the programme were addresses by Dr Yesu Persaud, Executive Chairman of Demerara Bank Limited and Mr Ed. Caesar, former Chief Education Officer (CEO), Ministry of Education and a trustee of the organization.

Other items on the programme included a presentation of carols and a dance by the Ogle Presbyterian Church; songs by the Cummings Lodge and Ogle Mandir respectively; a dance presentation by the People’s Assembly of God Church along with a re-enactment of the birth of baby Jesus; a song “ Beautiful Star of Bethlehem ”rendered by the headmistress of the Cummings Lodge Secondary School, Ms Murline Valentine and tassa drumming by Mr Raghu’s Tassa Group.

The rhythmic sound of the tassa drums was enticing enough to cause some females, who were on the corridor to gyrate, much to the delight of several others.
In his introduction of the business magnate to the audience as the feature speaker, Mr Andrew Kartick, one of the remaining members from the initial 20, drew the attention to a laminated copy of an article on the western wall of the auditorium that was written by Dr Persaud in December 1991, and titled `Season of Peace and Goodwill’.
Dr Persaud, who said he has been a friend of the Kartick’s family for many years, took the opportunity to retrace his upbringing from that of a young schoolboy and son of a canecutter who grew up on a sugar estate, to that of a grown man who has been successful at many of his endeavours.

Describing the re-hashing as a “Fact of Life”, Dr Persaud, during the interaction, sought to encourage the individuals who were present to seek to achieve a goal irrespective of status or pitfalls along the way. He added that, as long as an individual had determination and remained focused on his goals in life, he/she was destined to succeed.
According to him, the discourse was to give the youngsters who were assisting to prepare the hampers for the elders, an idea of how to drive and improve oneself, adding that life was sacred and should be treated as such.

“Each and every one of us can achieve, but it depends on determination and never giving up. Whatever you want to do you can do it, providing you are prepared to work hard, apply yourself and always listen to people with good messages”, he charged the audience, before wishing them a Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year.
Mr Caesar, although not a resident of any of the three communities, has been attending the ‘celebration’ each year since 1990. According to him, it is the only social engagement he looks forward to. He considers the celebration as one that should be put on the activity calendar of every community.

In his address, Mr Caesar publicly recognised Dr Persaud and referred to him as the best private sector person from whom much can be learned. He pleaded with Dr Persaud to find the time to do some ”real academic writing” that would certainly benefit the private sector functionaries and the country as a whole. He expressed his willingness to work with Dr Persaud as the volumes are produced.

Alluding to the event, he said that while it was another year, it was the same activity but lamented that some 16 persons from the group had passed away since the 2018 activity. On that note, he expressed the hope that, come 2020, at the hosting of the event, there would be no list because everyone would be present.

“A country like Guyana cannot develop with only young people, even if the young people are highly academically inclined and highly skilled, etc. We need persons who have had the experience, persons with the know-how, persons who walked the road, went into the trenches. Those are the people who have information that can guide our young people, so your job is not over, and when you come here every year you don’t come saying that people are nice to you. The organisers cannot do enough for you because you have made the contribution to your individual communities and this country. You deserve this and more. The list of donors speaks for itself. Those organisations and persons recognise how important you have been, how important you are and expect you to continue to make your contribution in every way possible,” he added.

Continuing he urged the seniors to be the guide for the country’s young people, lamenting that in many communities our young people are highly indisciplined. “We as big people have to continue to do our work, we have to contribute to the development of this country and, we have to look at those sensitive areas and ‘ignore’ them. Whether an individual is Hindu, Muslim or Christian it is not critical, or tall, fat or slim it is not important. What is important is that we are all brothers and sisters and we must be keepers of our brothers and sisters. That’s how we must live in this country, we must think of each other, think of development.”

He added that the Ogle, Cummings Lodge, Industry community was the only one where such a celebration has been occurring for so many years. He recalled some years ago, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds was present and he urged the latter to do whatever was possible to cause other communities to organise similar activities for their seniors.
Caesar appealed to the gathering to continue to work for the development of their communities and the country. “Let’s work together, let us celebrate now and let next year be a more productive year. Come strong, stay strong and be good to each other regardless of where you live, who you are, and your station in life. We are all the children of the Almighty,” Caesar added. He also expressed gratitude to the members of the organising committee and praised them for their diligence.

In an invited comment, Mr Andrew Kartick said that he was one of the few living members from the original organising committee of 1954. He added that the organising body continues to be successful each year. The activity was now in its sixty sixth year.

“We have helped during times of floods, shortages and everything else. Whatever we collect we distribute. For the first 20 years the recipients were given only food and enjoyed some entertainment. There has been a great expansion because of our many donors. Many things will live with me. Our organisation is registered and one of the memorable years was 1995 when a supporter donated 230-10lb butter-ball turkeys. We try our best and will continue to do so.” he added.