By North American Correspondent
Guyanese-Canadian community leaders were honoured at an awards reception last month in Toronto at the Shingar Banquet Hall. Some 700 attendees showed up at the banquet to pay tribute to outstanding Guyanese leaders and others who contributed so much to uplift the lives of their communities.
The event was organized by the Indo Caribbean Golden Age Association in observance of its 20th anniversary. The association’s president, Leila Daljeet, a Guyanese, said proceeds from the event would be donated to charity to benefit two important organizations that have contributed enormously to medical activities in Guyana to help the poor — Guyana Help the Kids and Three Rivers Kids Foundation. The former is involved in improving pediatric care in Guyana while the latter takes kids from Guyana to India (twice annually) for life saving surgeries not available in their home country. The latter has sponsored several trips to Guyana over the last six years assisting dozens with surgeries.
Those honoured at the banquet for their contributions to society were: entertainer Terry Gajraj (the Guyana Babu); entrepreneurs Lionel Bedessee and Oudit Narine; musician David Singh; Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament Bas Balkissoon, Community workers Dr Budhendra Doobay of Vishnu Mandir; Jennifer Husten, a past Miss World title holder, formerly of Grenada; and Amy Nelson formerly of Jamaica. They were all presented with plaques and their contributions to community development were read out.
The tone for a spectacular evening program was set by eight-year old Guyanese Canadian Ashaya Doobay and five-year old Kaden Ali, who rendered in their own inimitable styles, the Canadian and Guyanese national anthems respectively to loud applauses from the appreciative audience.
Poet and author, Peter Jailall, read his poems on the immigrant theme, paying tribute to those who undertook the journey from India to various parts of the Caribbean as indentured labourers. There were also several performances of dance and songs by Guyanese artistes and short speeches from community leaders.
President Leila Daljeet said the Caribbean Golden Age Association “has evolved to become a natural incubator for intergenerational activities and relationships where our seniors enjoy interactions with young volunteers and working professionals”.
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