Restoring Hope International Inc. Improving lives, offering hope

Tackling a global problem, Guyanese-born humanitarian Sandra Shivdat starts at home

The Lusignan-Good Hope Learning Centre, located at Lot 184 Lusignan Grassfield, is a local project undertaken by Restoring Hope International Inc. (RHI), a New Jersey, U.S. registered non-profit organisation founded in 2008. Its goal is to break the cycle of hopelessness, and promote hope and optimism to impoverished families in poor parts of Guyana.

RHI co-founder, Guyanese-born humanitarian Sandra Shivdat, speaking with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine said that she left Guyana in 1983 and had briefly returned a few times prior to 2005 just to visit relatives.
In March 2005, she visited Guyana with the distinct purpose of helping victims of the catastrophic flood that had just occurred that year.
“I was unprepared for the level of poverty and illiteracy that existed in the areas I visited, and knew that I had to help.  I wrote a report, ‘The Forgotten Class’, about that trip and circulated it to create awareness.  Since then I make an average of four trips per year to Guyana.  In 2007, I wrote another report titled ‘Help the Children’ and posted it online.  That report got a lot of attention and it led me to create Restoring Hope International, Inc. RHI’s mission is to fight poverty through education, with a direct focus on Guyana.  It is our way of giving back to our country,” Shivdat stated.
Having witnessed the plight of the impoverished, Sandra aims to provide literary skills, which, she believes, will empower and lay the foundation for better lives.
RHI services provided include a library, computer room, literary, arts and craft programmes, after-school homework help, as well as an after-school program where students are taught Maths, English, Reading and Spelling. There are also remedial and adult education classes, as well as counselling and workshops.
By means of the centre, Shivdat hopes to promote the power of education to parents and children so that they can embrace that concept and work towards a better future for themselves.  She noted that the Lusignan-Good Hope Learning Centre was built for that purpose.
“Our aim is to create an environment where children can travel the world through books; where we can teach them the necessary skills to think independently, to be inquisitive and creative; where they can develop as individuals who respect themselves and care about others; where it is possible to dream because dreams do come through,” she expressed.
Shivdat added that in order for students to maintain and achieve unrestrained cognitive abilities, they have to enjoy a stress-free life.  As such, her team is involved in various outreach programmes in the surrounding communities where the centre is located. These programmes seek to distribute food and clothing, provide medical assistance, and family sponsorships and scholarships for school dropouts.  The philanthropist said RHI strives to help students in any way it can both with their academic lives and at home.
“RHI shares the belief that education levels the field for children.  Through education, the child of a cane cutter can become the CEO of the sugar estates, the child of a school janitor can become the minister of education, and the child of a fisherman can become the president of the country. The focus of this organization is to fight poverty through education. We will continue to strive towards fulfilling the needs of the underprivileged children we serve and hope that we can duplicate our success in other areas of Guyana where there is a need for such a centre,” Shivdat outlined.
Other members of RHI also come from New Jersey, and from various states in the US, including New York, Florida and Texas. The organisation carries out a number of fundraising activities to help with its activities, and relies on kind donations as well.
There is always a need for funds to continue and expand the centre’s work in providing for many more individuals in various communities. For more information on how you can help, visit goodhope-gy.org