Region 10 Amerindian communities benefit from Rotary Club outreach
A resident is greeted by a member of the RCD before securing a hamper
A resident is greeted by a member of the RCD before securing a hamper

MEMBERS of the Rotary Club of Demerara (RCD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), over the weekend visited the Amerindian communities of Muritaro and Malali in Region 10, along the Demerara River, to deliver COVID-19 vaccines, informational materials, clothing packages, and food hampers. According to a release by the RCD, the Rotary Club undertook the coordination of the exercise and representatives within the Ministry of Health, in the documentation and delivery of AstraZeneca and Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines to these communities.
Aside from the administration of vaccines, representatives of both the RCD and the Ministry of Health engaged in a sensitisation exercise with these communities so as to address concerns about the contents and side effects of the vaccine. The RCD expressed gratitude to the toshaos of Muritaro, Loretta Fiedtkou, and Malali, Orlayne Williams, who were both recipients of the vaccine and set an example for residents in their villages to emulate. They also expressed their thanks to Dwight John, REO of Region 10 for providing assistance with boats to transport the teams into the villages, and Dr Hamilton from the COVID-19 Vaccination Team at the Ministry of Health for their participation.

Bhageshwar Murli, President of the RCD, noted that Rotary International has played a key role in the fight against polio throughout the world through its vaccination work. He added that using established polio vaccination relief infrastructure to provide COVID-19 vaccination relief felt like a “natural evolution”.
Rotarian Lancelot Khan, coordinator of the exercise, also underscored the importance of efficiently utilising resources during the pandemic, and explained that in this case, the RCD was able to act as the link to simultaneously provide sensitisation and medical assistance from the Ministry of Health, along with hampers from the Civil Defence Commission, and clothing and household items from Rotarians to these communities.
The outreach follows the mandate of one of Rotary’s Seven Areas of Focus: fighting disease. Coupled with the RCD’s 27-year history of medical outreaches in outlying and interior regions in Guyana as well as the work the club has done over the last year to assist with COVID-19 relief, the club is uniquely poised to be a key player in this vaccination drive. Similar exercises are scheduled to continue in other remote villages in the upcoming weeks.

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