-say it provides them with hope

SEVENTEEN women who are now employed at the recently opened Sunrise Bakery located at Capoey in Region Two, are very thankful for the project and have extended gratitude to the Guyana Foundation and the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI).

The women said the skills they have gained from the training provided by the Guyana Foundation will make them marketable and better individuals. Work is currently being done on the $12 million facility to install solar panels. The project when completed will cost approximately $15 million.

Funds received from the Estate of Glynn Ludlow Hunte, a Guyanese who resided in the United Kingdom, was also used for the project.

Aleema Edwards told the Guyana Chronicle that she is very thankful for the baking and financial management skills she acquired while participating in the training programme. Edwards said she is now in a better position to provide for her family. According to her, the bakery was constructed at an opportune time when the region is feeling the effects of the pandemic.

In addition to the women, one male from the Amerindian community attended the skills-training programme to become bakers at the foundation’s Sunrise Centre at Zorg-en-Vlygt on the Essequibo Coast. The three-month course was taught by facilitators hired by the Guyana Foundation. On completion, selected participants benefited from additional training in basic financial and small business management.

Jenita Hendricks said that she is very appreciative as she has learnt many new things about baking. The mother told this publication that she was able to form a close bond with the other participants and the Guyana Foundation team. She said that she intends to use her skills to further serve her community and family.

Meanwhile, Marlyn Henry, a mother of one related that she is more empowered and she can go to any part of the world to bake. Henry said that she will be forever thankful to the Guyana Foundation and all their partners, who assisted in making the opening of the bakery a reality.

The lone male, Franklyn Seeram, who is a father of three said that he was happy to be a part of the classes. He said he learnt and is now equipped with the skills needed to be a better baker.

The Guyana Foundation has brought in state-of-the-art baking equipment from the United States. The bakery was constructed where an old building once stood. That structure was demolished and contractor Romesh Bojraj was chosen to build the bakery.

Founder of the Guyana Foundation, Supriya Singh-Bodden, said she is often asked why is there a need for charitable projects in a country with such vast oil wealth. She said her response is that until every single Guyanese, in all of the regions of Guyana, of all ethnicities, can lift their heads out of poverty and participate fully in the material wealth of the country, Guyana will remain poor in her mind. It is for this reason, she said, that the work of the foundation must continue.

The foundation looks forward to partnering with more agencies and individuals around the world to assist it in its mission to uplift the people of Guyana, who are the country’s “only real asset.”

“This project fits into the type of work the foundation has been doing over the years to try to renew villages around Guyana, empowering women, empowering people in general [and] offering them, skills to uplift themselves. It is hoped that this bakery will now be able to supply the daily needs of the community. It will also be able to provide nutritious meals for schoolchildren in the village. As the bakery becomes more established, it is hoped that they will be able to supply surrounding villages, as well as the entire Essequibo coastland,” she added.

Toshao of Capoey, Ralph Hendricks said he is very happy for the women as they have now more empowered and marketable. He said his village will be more economically viable and many women will also learn the skills of baking from those who have already received training.