By Navendra Seoraj

A CIVIL effort by a team called the Bartica COVID-19 relief team, has prevented hunger and distress from reaching some of the vulnerable households in the town during a time of crisis, caused by the dreaded Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

With persons losing their jobs and others running out of ways to preserve their livelihood, the relief team, led by Entrepreneur, Krishna “Rico” Persaud, took a decision to mobilise support for “vulnerable” households.

The support came in the form of hampers containing essential food supplies, said Former Deputy Mayor of Bartica, Kamal Persaud, in an invited comment, on Tuesday. Persaud, who is Krishna’s sister and a member of the relief team, said the group has so far distributed 110 hampers, valuing close to GYD$2M. Persaud’s brother funded the initiative through personal funds and with assistance from other private individuals and businesses.

“We have conducted two exercises so far…the first aspect was the distribution of food hampers to vulnerable people in Bartica,” said the former deputy mayor. She believes that such initiatives are important, especially at this time when persons are more vulnerable due the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With decreased profits, businesses have laid off workers or sent them on no-pay leave, leaving them without a source of income and possibly without food on their plate. Necessary measures, which were implemented by authorities to reduce the spread of the disease, have also resulted in children being home from school.

“Because school is out, children will be home and they would need attention and food…without a source of income, finding food is becoming difficult in some homes…so we thought it was important to ensure that families with children get hampers because not having money is one thing, but once they have food, they could manage,” said Persaud.

The team also provided assistance to elderly persons and persons with disabilities, but while these hampers were timely, she said a lot of persons expressed concerns about how they will sustain themselves and relieve the burden on their own.

“There are a lot of elderly persons and single-parent families that depended on relatives abroad to send money for them, but due the global effect of the disease, their relatives have not been able to sustain this initiative,” the former deputy mayor lamented.

Persaud said the team will continue the effort and distribute more hampers very soon, but their support will not stop just at individuals and families. The team recently distributed $150,000 worth in sanitisers and toilet paper to the Bartica Police Station and the Bartica Regional Hospital. In recognising the need to protect and support first responders, the team decided to extend their initiative.

Persaud said her team’s initiatives are, however, geared at supplemented the Civil Defence Commission (CDC)’s hamper distribution initiative, which reached over 1,700 households so far. Person’s interested in supporting the Bartica COVID-19 relief team, can make contact with Krishna at 682-5360 or Kamal at 608-1455.

When asked about the general response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in Bartica, Persaud said, authorities are doing everything to ensure that persons get the right information and know the necessary steps to follow in order to stay safe from the disease. “There is only so much the authorities could do…it is on the citizens to follow the established guidelines and ensure that they take precautions in order to stay safe from the disease…persons in the commercial sector and others have been adhering, but there are some persons who have been neglectful and choose not to wear face masks and follow other guidelines,” said the former deputy mayor.

She said some sections of the religious communities have also been flouting the measures in place, but authorities have been doing their part to ensure that persons stay in line.

The Department of Public Information had reported that the Bartica Mayor and Town Council is creating a database of persons in the township whose incomes have been affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In a weekly address Bartica Mayor, Gifford Marshall disclosed that the council was expected to begin registering the names of affected persons from April 15 into the new week.

“This way when the municipality receives resources, we will know to whom to direct these resources,” he stated. The mayor also reported that the sanitisation exercise will continue, and was boosted with the recent receipt of two units. “We will be sanitising the areas that are heavily populated such as First and Second Avenue, Bartica/Potaro Housing scheme and the municipal market.”

Residents were called on to be cognisant of the role of sanitation workers and consider their safety when disposing of garbage. “They are a very important arm of this municipality and we cannot afford for them to fall sick, especially at this time. So, we are asking that you responsibly dispose of your waste.” Mayor Marshall also reiterated the importance of heeding the stay-at-home policy and only going out if accessing essential services or travelling to and from work.