A TIMELY hamper distribution initiative, the brainchild of Ms. Zena Bone, Proprietor of Adel’s Resort of Akawini, Lower Pomeroon, which saw her recently linking with the Tourism & Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), Food for the Poor and Mattai’s Supermarket, brought smiles to the faces of 25 families in the area.

The families were affected by the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, through the loss of jobs due to the closure of resorts or lodges. The main breadwinner of a home and others were laid off, and, in other cases, families who depended on the earning from selling produce from their farms for sustenance have been unable to do so, or have had to be selling their produce at a loss.

The hampers, valued at some $5,000 each, contained 18 items including flour, sugar, rice, milk, soap, soap powder, margarine, toothbrush, toilet paper, toothpaste and matches.

Bone, currently ‘locked in’ in Washington due to the coronavirus and cannot wait to return home, told the Guyana Chronicle that, because of the years she spent in the Lower Pomeroon area, she was concerned of the impact the pandemic was having on families.
She said, like other businesses, she too has had to lay off staff and it worried her as to how they were able to sustain their families. That led to the birth of the initiative.

“Through friends in the diaspora with whom I sold the idea, I was able to raise US$500 to purchase foodstuff worth $4,000 each for 25 families. Mattai’s did the packaging of the individual bags and offered to include a further $1,000 worth of items, bringing the value to about $5,000,” she added.

The items were then transported via cargo boat to Charity from where they were uplifted and taken to Adel’s Resort where the distribution was facilitated. Bone is urging other sponsors to come on board, as she is hoping to have the distribution done on a fortnightly basis.

“I received tangible support from members of the diaspora and am urging like-minded individuals to be part of the initiative and help to put a smile on the faces of some families. I contacted my people and asked for a list of the affected families in the Lower Pomeroon, who were directly affected through the closure of various resorts and lodges. When I saw the pictures and videos of the happy faces during the distribution it made my day”, she remarked.

Commenting on Bone’s ideas to cushion the impact on families by handing out hampers, THAG’s President Mitra Ramkumar, said that, through the relationship, his organisation has with tourism-related businesses, he has an understanding of the impact COVID-19 has had on some families. He, too, is urging more persons to support the initiative.
“These hampers will go a far way to help the staff who were laid off and their families, and I thank the current sponsors and would like to encourage others to come onboard,” he added.
Meanwhile, commenting on the recent decision to allow a 75 per cent passenger capacity in minibuses, cars and other forms of transportation, under Phase Three of the government’s four-phased re-opening of the country, Ramkumar says he welcomes it.
According to him, while he understands the financial impact the reduction of the passenger load per transportation has had, and continues to have on the operators of such businesses, the restrictions are, however, necessary and in the best interest of all citizens. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he reminded, has brought several countries to their knees and is responsible for millions of deaths worldwide.

With the news that Regions One and Seven have been identified as the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic here in Guyana, Ramkumar reiterated an appeal for operators of the various transports to adhere to the protocols put in place to help flatten the curve.

“From all indications, the coronavirus will be here for a while, so we need to all get a grip of ourselves and learn how to live and survive alongside this virus due to the fluctuating threat of COVID-19 locally and abroad,” he stressed.

Ramkumar, meanwhile, says he is anxiously looking forward to additional good news that will benefit those in the tourism sector, as the country desperately seeks to return to normalcy and flatten the COVID-19 curve.