THE Guyana Police Force (GPF) has launched Fallen Heroes Foundation Inc. in honour of those members who have died in the line of duty, in order to provide various forms of assistance to their families.Some, years after their demise, others recently, will now rest in peace as their families are set to receive adequate assistance in terms of hampers, school fees for children and other kinds of assistance from the GPF Heroes Foundation.
Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan lauded this initiative, saying that, “The members of the police force can now benefit from further solidarity… since my tenure began I have noticed a change in the attention given to the force, which allows for a better livelihood.”
Utmost Respect and Solidarity
He referred to the way things were done by the New York Police Department (NYPD) when one of their comrades, a Guyanese, died while carrying out his duties.
“We must adopt this way, and treat our fallen heroes with utmost respect and solidarity…as such this is a major stepping stone in that direction,” said the Public Security Minister, while encouraging persons who can afford it, to come out and donate to the cause.
Group Insurance Scheme
Moreover, Minister Ramjattan proposed that they should introduce a policing group insurance scheme, which will allow police officers to at least take $100 out of their salaries to put towards their insurance.
This, he noted, will be beneficial to them in the long run, given that in the event of a mishap, they would have some sort of financial support which will be available to them, or in some instances their families.
Donations
Being the first to initiate the foundation, Ramjattan on behalf of his family and himself donated $100,000. This was followed by Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence, who also donated $100,000 on behalf of herself and an additional $500,000 on behalf of the ministry.
In her remarks, Minister Lawrence said that, “After many years of talks a foundation has finally been formed, and as such I believe that it will prove to be very beneficial to the families of these fallen heroes.”
She noted that since emphasis will be placed on education, this makes the initiative even better and even more impactful.
Speaking about the ideas behind the initiative, Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud reflected on the last four ranks who died in the line of duty – Ellias, Cleto, Pantlitz and Dawson – and their dependants who were left without any hope of financial support to continue their lives.
President of the Foundation Reverend Raphael Massiah, said that he and all the other members of the new body who were drawn from the Force’s Cops and Faith Network, together with a business executive, are all proud to be involved and responsible for bringing about positive changes in the lives of the families of slain police ranks.
Meanwhile, other stakeholders in the business community also used the opportunity to make contributions to the initiative.