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Guyana Premier, an all-Guyanese brand promoting everything local, aims to empower youths through ‘self-elevation’

In an interview with Sunday Times Magazine, Dave Lalltoo, founder of Guyana Premier, said youth empowerment is one of the biggest aims of Guyana Premier. He believes that “the key to true empowerment is through self-elevation and making the most of one’s education at a tender age is essential to this since good buildings are built on strong foundations”.

Children from Belvedere Primary School with their backpacks

Although most children are given an equal opportunity in terms of access to education in Guyana, Lalltoo said not all of them are able to use it to its fullest potential because they lack some of the basic resources. This led Lalltoo and his team to the idea of giving back to rural communities by providing essential school items to those who are otherwise unable to afford them or find difficulties in doing so. Thus, Guyana Premier’s ‘Back to School Drive’ was born.
Lalltoo along with his dedicated team took it upon themselves to approach both the private and public sectors to gain their support on this venture. According to Lalltoo, corporate Guyana stepped up to the calling and the initiative was eventually exclusively supported by these private entities. Adequate school supplies were gathered to provide for the needs of almost 250 children, which was the goal set by the team, so the drive was closed off and necessary arrangements for the distribution went underway.
Recently, students in Leguan (Essequibo) and Belvedere (Berbice) benefitted from the annual ‘Back to School Drive’.
“One of the main reasons we decided to give back to communities like Leguan and Belvedere in Berbice is because we were incredible touched by the two top National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) students from both areas. Upon listening to their stories, we saw the need to give back to these disadvantaged rural communities.
Guyana Premier was launched five months back and this is the first of many charity events,” Lalltoo said.
Officials from Maryville Primary School in Leguan and Belvedere Primary School in Region Six were contacted and the dates were set for the team to visit. On August 2, 2017, Guyana Premier embarked on their first set of distribution in Leguan.

As a proud product of Leguan himself, Lalltoo was ecstatic about beginning this project in his alma mater, Maryville Primary. He promised that there were great things in the future for the children of Leguan and around the country as Guyana Premier aims to fulfil its mandate. The students were fitted with shoes, provided by Guyana Medical Relief, and given backpacks packed with essential supplies.
Lalltoo and his team then ventured to Region Four to the Belvedere Primary School, Berbice to provide essential school supplies to underprivileged children.
“The ‘Back to School Drive’ was indeed a successful one. We’re thankful to Massy Stores Guyana, Hallmark Guyana, C&L Construction Company, Branderz Guyana, Java Coffee Bar, Doolie’s Bakery, Modern Grafix, Guyana Medical Relief, Shermol Cleaners, K’s Pharmacy, Pandit & Son’s, The Outdoor Store & Pet Shop, Bibi Halal Corner, and many others who came on board to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate,” Lalltoo expressed.
Lalltoo mentioned that he and his team are currently planning a medical outreach for unprivileged children and elders in December. Additionally, the ‘Back to School Drive’ will be an annual project targeting many more rural areas of Guyana.
For more information, visit Guyana Premier on Facebook or www.guyanapremier.com