WE in Guyana joined with the world on September 5, 2020, in observing the International Day of Charity. In this crisis during this global pandemic of the coronavirus, more than ever before we must focus on being our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers and progress a creed of being in solidarity with the drive to eradicate poverty.

According to the United Nations, “Charity, like the notions of volunteerism and philanthropy, provides real social bonding and contributes to the creation of inclusive and more resilient societies. Charity can alleviate the worst effects of humanitarian crises [and] supplement public services in health care, education, housing, and child protection. It assists the advancement of culture, science, sports, and the protection of cultural and natural heritage. It also promotes the rights of the marginalised and underprivileged and spreads the message of humanity in conflict situations.”

Guyana’s 10th President, His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali is off to a flying start. A few days ago he visited several villages in East Canje distributing hundreds of hampers to those in need. And why was this area of marked significance to Guyana? It is the home of the Rose Hall Sugar Estate where the former PNC- led government under David Granger shattered the economic well-being for thousands of these families in several villages. These villages include Gangaram, several miles up the Canje River, Betsy Ground, Good Banana Land, Adelphi, Reliance, Canefield, and Canje Front.

Those who have visited these villages before and after the closure of the Rose Hall Sugar Factory would observe the marked difference in the aesthetics of these communities, as that PNC-led government sought to suck their dignity from them. Well, no more says Dr. Ali, as he spoke to these people on September 1, 2020.
In his message to the families of these villages, he said: “The process to restart operations at the Rose Hall estate has already begun.” He further stated that his government’s commitment to the Rose Hall Estate is that it will be “brought back into operations.” Reopening these estates will re-energise many of these villages to their former glory as more families start to plan for the future with a predictable set of economic energy flowing through their respective villages once again.

But reopening the estates aside, we take a moment to nonetheless take stock of the deeper message of His Excellency President Dr. Irfaan Ali. The President told the villagers that “I have made a commitment that I am going to work every single day, the government is going to work every single day in the best interest of all the people in our country.” Now, this is not empty talk, these are words backed by real action. Only on Sunday, August 30, 2020, the President was in the urban community of Tiger Bay listening to his people and sharing food hampers and face masks with them. Then on September 1, 2020, he was doing the same thing in rural Guyana. And in this Amerindian Heritage Month of September, he repeated the same process when he distributed some 1,100 food hampers in the remote communities on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway to mainly Amerindian families.

Dr. Ali is a man on a mission, one who is focused on chartering a course to bring back a sense of dignity to the families of Guyana, so they can live their lives by a better standard in an environment where people follow the rule of law. In these COVID times, it is important that we are all our brothers and sisters keepers. If our neighbours do not have masks, even cloth masks, we should help, support and provide if we can. President Ali as a presidential candidate before August 2020, led on the distribution of some 200,000 cloth masks made in Guyana for Guyanese. Those who can afford, even if we give away 20 face masks and two food hampers, it is better than doing nothing. These acts by all, of taking care of the nation is important at this time. In the end, it takes a family to build a community and a community to build a nation. Let us join President Ali in fixing this mess as Guyana joins the world in observing the International Day of Charity.