“I’ve benefited in a good way so far and I’m able to become independent so I can do things for myself now.  Because it has been very hard to go out and find a job, so this has become a very helpful something for me. The organisation is very helpful to young women by helping people to help themselves. I’m glad that they are targeting young women mostly because of their families, especially single parents,” said Shakema Hendry  The organisation she is referring to is the Humanitarian Mission led by Suresh Sugrim, who is a Guyanese based in Canada In a press release, the Humanitarian Mission Guyana Inc said that it is passionate about empowering all those willing to learn. The organisation is most concerned about the impact the pandemic is having with the world’s most prized asset: children. “We were lucky to have an American student, Robert Coggins, who is pursuing a Professorship in Theoretical Physics reaches out to us to offer his time and skills in whatever capacity needed. He wanted to give back to his mother’s birth country, in a way of honouring her, and he is also passionate about teaching and making maths fun for children. And thanks to this most recently we added free maths utoring for grades 7-9 and grades 10-11,” the organisation said.

The Humanitarian Mission-Guyana, Inc and the Guyana Chapter are offering continuation of educational programmes that the organisation that will benefit Guyana’s children, and the country’s future generation. The Humanitarian Mission aims to Educate, Empower, and Elevate individuals. Its goal is to break the cycle of poverty through education/empowerment and creating jobs. The following quote projects its mission: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Handouts are not the answer.

“We are calling on all gifted, talented, and skilled Guyanese who are looking for ways to give back to the community to reach out to us for partnership and collaborations, as we would like to expand the list of online programmes we can offer, and we need more kind-hearted individuals who are not only looking to see change, but [who] are willing to put in the time and effort to be part of the change!” the organisation continued in its press release.

“We have recognised that there are many individuals that [sic] receive transient handouts, and thus concluded that we can tremendously impact the lives of the less fortunate and underprivileged youths and adults, by instilling core skills and knowledge that will enable them to become employable and earn a living, thereby removing themselves from the cycle of poverty and deprivation. Our facility located at Lot 14-26 Area Q, Ankerville, Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice and provides for Skills Development Training in diverse fields, Counselling, Social Services, Character Building, and Education, among other things, with the objective of playing a predominant role in reshaping and transforming as many lives as possible through the power of education and empowerment for all.”

I admire individuals and organisations that go beyond to contribute to humanity. We all need to play a part, especially in these challenging times.
This is the first weekend in a brand new month with endless possibilities. I encourage us to look for creative ways in which we can contribute to our communities as we continue to celebrate this beautiful journey call life BEYOND THE RUNWAY.