Spreading Christmas Cheer

By Venessa Deosaran

During this festive season, it is customary for businesses and volunteer groups to spread Christmas cheer to those who are less fortunate, putting wider smiles on their faces.

Digicel and local volunteer group Feed a Child for the Holidays, are excellent examples of such groups that spread Christmas cheer. Both entities donate gifts and provide recreation for children from various orphanages and homes.

Volunteer group spreads Christmas joy. This year, Feed a Child for the Holidays started spreading Christmas cheer when the group visited the St. John Bosco Orphanage, Plaisance last Saturday.

The boys were very delighted to receive the donation, which included autographed cricket bats, compliments of West Indies and Guyana’s cricketer Christopher Barnwell, clothing, books, school supplies and a toaster.

They also visited the Drop-In Centre for street children where they handed out gifts and goodies.

Established in December 2007, Feed a Child for the Holidays is a private group dedicated to making a humanitarian effort to share in the spirit of Christmas. The group endeavours to bring gifts, encouragement and love to the less fortunate children in Guyana.

Feed a Child for the Holidays celebrates five years of caring and sharing this year, and as such, the group hopes to reach out to five orphanages and underprivileged groups this Christmas.

The group’s objectives are to raise awareness of the plight of orphaned children in Guyana, and to provide assistance, whether emotional, financial or physical, to under-privileged children wherever they may be. Feed a Child for the Holidays is made up of young working members as well as students, who are determined to continue to bring joy and love to the kids who really need it.

“We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all who contributed in spreading Christmas cheer. We encourage everyone to make a humanitarian effort and continue to give in making Christmases joyful for underprivileged kids,” Schemel Patrick, one of the group’s directors said.

As a charitable body, the group fully appreciates any assistance rendered to provide gifts, food items, basic necessities, and clothing for these children. One of its major corporate sponsors is Edward B. Beharry & Co. Ltd.

Corporate Christmas cheer

Since its inception, Digicel has visited many orphanages and children’s homes countrywide. This initiative is part of its ‘Christmas Charity Drive’, where they visit communities across Guyana to give out gifts, hot meals to the homeless, and spread Christmas cheer with hugs from the Digicel’s Santa Claus.

The Digicel staff recently visited the children of Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre. The Centre was originally established in January 1967, by the Ministry of Health to provide rehabilitative services for those children who had suffered residual paralysis following the 1960 and 1964 poliomyelitis epidemics. With control of this disease and therefore the subsequent reduction of these types of cases, the Centre developed into an organisation providing comprehensive programmes in rehabilitation for children with various types of physical and other developmental disabilities. (Taken from Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)