Having already contributed significantly to Guyana, the Canada-based International Development and Relief Foundation (IDRF) will continue its support for projects in the South-American country, IDRF’s chairman Winston Kassim has assured.
Speaking at IDRF’s annual fundraising gala in Toronto on Saturday, Kassim told the over-sold crowd of 500 supporters, that there is still a great need for better health services and access to education in Guyana. He said this need will be addressed through IDRF’s strong and longstanding partnerships with a number of non-profit groups in Guyana, particularly the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) and the Doobay Medical Centre.
A native of Guyana and Order of Canada recipient, Kassim visited a number of IDRF-sponsored projects in Guyana during September of 2012 and early 2013 and was impressed with how much was being done to support needy people across the country.
“I was proud to see how the generosity of our Canadian donors was being put to such good use by our partner organizations in Guyana,” he told Guyana Times International. “These positive results encouraged our board to continue and expand our charitable work in Guyana.”
Health and education support
After his visit, Kassim announced a Cdn$25,000 commitment to Guyana Help the Kids (GHTK), a Canadian partner charity led by Dr. Narendra Singh, Chief of Pediatrics at Humber River Hospital. The donation will help to establish a pediatric residency programme for Guyanese physicians—the first of such an initiative in the country. GHTK also established and supplied the first public pediatric-care facility in the capital Georgetown, New Amsterdam and Linden with plans to expand to the West Demerara and Suddie hospitals.
Kassim, who is also a Vice-President with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in Toronto, indicated that his volunteer efforts have been supported with generous donations from the Bank.
With support from IDRF, the CIOG provides assistance in the education sector whereby children—who have difficulty attending school due to the lack of transportation for long distances—are picked up and dropped off each day.
The partnership with the Doobay Medical Centre resulted in the establishment of the Doobay Renal Centre in 2012, the first pro-poor dialysis facility in Guyana that offers subsidised dialysis services to the poor and less fortunate.
Saving lives
Leader of the clinic Dr. Budhendra Doobay, who also attended the gala, briefly reported on the clinic’s work and its achievements. He praised the work of IDRF, saying that it is through such support that the lives of people are being saved.
The mission of his clinic, he explained is to provide subsidized dialysis services to the poor, and help advance visibility on the need for domestic renal services in Guyana. Dr. Doobay noted that hemodialysis currently costs approximately US$200 per session. This cost is highly prohibitive to 95 percent of the known patients in Guyana.
But with assistance of IDRF, the Doobay Medical Centre has been able to provide world standard dialysis service at a countrywide affordable cost of US$50.00 (Gy$9000.00) per session to all local patients. This cost is further subsidised for the less fortunate.
Dr. Fuad Shahin, founder of IDRF and Hon. Reza Moridi, Minster of Research & Innovation were among those who gathered at the gala along with other dignitaries and prominent community leaders. Haroon Siddiqui of the Toronto Star newspaper gave the evening’s keynote speech on the topic ‘Challenges to Contemporary Multi-culturism’.
About IDRF
Founded in 1984, IDRF is a Canada-based charitable organisation that provides humanitarian aid and sustainable development assistance around the world to the poor and disadvantaged, and to those who have been displaced by natural disasters and conflict. IDRF supports the provision of basic necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, hygiene kits, trauma counseling, clean water and medical assistance to people affected by floods, cyclones, famines and earthquakes in Japan, Pakistan, Haiti, Myanmar, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, and East Africa.
Additionally, it has opened clinics, built homes, created clean water facilities, provided job skills, helped erect waste management facilities, and much more for hundreds of needy communities from Africa to Asia.
While most of the organisation’s work takes place in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America, IDRF provides development assistance in Canada to First Nations people and new immigrant communities.
Over the past five years, IDRF provided direct assistance to some 580,000 people in 34 countries globally. When indirect beneficiaries are included (e.g. those who subsequently benefit from an initiative in addition to the initial target audience), the number of beneficiaries expands to more than two million people. In fiscal 2012 alone, IDRF implemented 59 projects in 17 countries that helped over 120,000 needy people.
IDRF’s annual gala is one of the organisation’s main fundraising event, and this year it raised nearly Cdn$150,000 dollars in donations and pledges. People wishing to support the work of IDRF in Guyana and elsewhere, can make a donation online at www.idrf.com. Donations can be directed to specific IDRF projects in various countries.
