His Excellency President Dr Irfaan Ali and First Lady Mrs Arya Ali handed over cheques to 16 charities this afternoon at State House.

Of the $18.5m raised from the recent ‘Cricket for Charity’ game during The Kares One Guyana T10 Tapeball Blast tournament, $17.1m went to local charities.

The remaining $1.4m will support ongoing works at the First Lady’s Empowerment and Disability Centre at Palmyra, Berbice.

The funds were distributed to several children’s homes, the Salvation Army, Dharm Shala, and two animal welfare groups.

In brief remarks, President Ali expressed gratitude to the private sector donors for their corporate social responsibility to the less fortunate and vulnerable communities.
He also said that he hopes the tournament blooms in the next edition and becomes a tourism spectacle.

In the ‘Cricket for Charity’ game on Saturday last, at the National Stadium, President Ali’s Roraima cricket team beat Lennox Cush’s Kanuku team.