By Francis Quamina Farrier
A YEAR ago, in the midst of the early raging of the COVID-19 pandemic onslaught which engulfed countries worldwide, including Guyana, 33 brave and patriotic Guyanese got together with dedicated minds. Their mission was to establish another branch of a well-known and respected organisation. It was the newly established Rotary Club of Garden City, Georgetown. The decision by those patriotic city folk proved that there are those Guyanese who do not go around only complaining and criticising every person and possible thing they can. On the other hand, some set out to improve their communities. They are those citizens who look for and do the positive things as often as they can, and usually, as best and as quietly as they can. They “Just Do It,” many times unconsciously, to improve the quality of life for themselves and others.

A good percentage of Guyanese look for solutions to the problems and challenges around them and get on with it to solve those problems. In their minds, like thousands of fellow Guyanese, they realise that the country is far behind where it ought to have been along the Highway of Development at this time. For example, after well over 55 years of independence, Guyana is still grappling with the lack of dependable electricity supply in the city and across the country. There is also the issue of the poor quality of service with public transportation, which is responsible for a high percentage of the public’s transportation needs. Guyana has a minibus service that needs lots of improvements in the areas of comfort and safety. It is a topic that has been spoken and written about many times in the past, hoping that there will be improvements in the future. The focus being especially on minibuses being driven over the lawful speed limits. Minibus operators need to understand and show by the service which they deliver that their job is one of service to their paying customers. They need to do everything within their power to provide a service of comfort and safety. Indeed, there are those minibus operators who do deliver excellent service and can be regarded as unsung heroes in our midst.

Waiting for more heroes
A prediction has only just been published, stating that Georgetown will, by 2035, be submerged under feet of water. Some citizens are predicting that there are those structures which are now standing, will probably collapse due to their poor construction. There are some buildings in the city that allegedly have been constructed with more stories than were officially approved. While it is true that some buildings in the city seem to be poorly constructed, many seem as though they will stand the test of time and will be standing strong decades to come; especially those constructed with clay bricks such as the National Insurance Scheme building on Brickdam in Georgetown.

Some citizens make themselves part of the solution to whatever are the problems in the society. For example, if they lock eyes with someone of another race, they would immediately flash a smile which would mean so much for race relations. A genuine smile more often than not brings inner joy to the recipient. Maybe those who share smiles freely should also be considered as heroes in their own way, bearing in mind, more often than not, how smiles are infectious to friendliness. The work which has already been done by the Rotary Club of Garden city, Georgetown, during the past year, is to be commended and to extend to its 33 members best wishes for continuing service in the coming years.