…President Ali’s parents among those gracing the occasion

GUYANESE Canadians and friends of Guyana in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) joined with the Guyana Consulate in Toronto to wrap up its 59th Guyana Independence Anniversary celebrations last Sunday with a grand cultural show and presentation at the Scarborough Civic Centre, Scarborough, Ontario.

The well-attended event featured the budding talents of young Guyanese in the diaspora, marking the last of several celebrations by the Toronto Consulate to mark this year’s Independence anniversary,
The activities opened with Inter-Faith prayers by Imam Shaykh Faisal, Spiritual Leader and President of the Islamic Forum of Brampton; Pt. Vidyarthie Sriram, Senior Priest of the Vedic Cultural Centre of Markham and Pastor John Dos Santos, Spiritual Leader of the Bramalea Church of God in Brampton.

Guyanese-born renowned trumpeter, Jan Morgan, provided the rendition of the Guyanese and Canadian National anthems while members of the Guyana Ex-Soldiers Association of Canada took command of hoisting the country’s National flag, the Golden Arrowhead, in the presence of approximately 300 guests, including Mr. and Mrs. Osman Ali, parents of His Excellency President Mohamed Irfaan Ali and leaders of many diaspora organisations.

President of the Guyana Ex-Soldiers Association, Gordon Winter, led the reciting of Guyana’s National Pledge.

The highlights of the evening included an indigenous poem by young Sadie Bernard, an Indian Bollywood song by Vijay Singh on the harmonium and accompanied by Alex Mohan on the tabla, and original and other songs by the Singh Sisters — Suhana, Sumeera and Sunaya who invoked the audience into deep patriotic fervor with Dave Martin & The Tradewinds popular song “Not a Blade of Grass” along with musical accompaniment by the young Ramessar Brothers of Toronto.

Jan Morgan also performed an inspiring solo piece on the trumpet, while popular recording artiste and Queen of Reggae, Donna Makeeda, accompanied by her dancer, sang popular reggaes and a medley of Guyanese folk songs.
Honorary Consul of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Mani Singh, in brief remarks, reiterated His Excellency President Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s commitment to the ‘One Guyana’ initiative, irrespective or race, colour, culture, religion, gender or political persuasion.

Consul Singh also recalled the struggles and sacrifices made by Guyana’s Founding Fathers, Cheddi Jagan, L.F.S. Burnham, Janet Jagan, Martin Carter and many others to free the then British Guiana from the shackles of British colonialism and foreign domination to pursue our own independent economic, social and political paths to development and prosperity for all our peoples, with political Independence finally granted on May 26, 1966.

Singh re-emphasised that Guyana is now the “talk of the world” as it is engaged in rapid economic, social, and infrastructural transformation and as the world’s fastest growing economy.
John O’Dell, President of the umbrella organisation, the Alliance of Guyanese Canadian Organizations, gave brief remarks on behalf of Diaspora organisations.
Guests also included Toronto City Councillors, politicians and leaders and members of many diaspora organisations.