December 4, 2016 Source
AS the festive season gets underway, hundreds of children on the East Coast of Demerara received gifts and goodies from President David Granger. The distribution exercise has become a tradition which the President looks forward to at this time of year, a release from
the Ministry of the Presidency noted.
He was accompanied by Minister of Social Cohesion, Ms. Amna Ally; Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ms. Simona Broomes; and Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Ms. Annette Ferguson.
The President’s first stop was at the Good Hope-Lusignan Learning Centre, where over 300 excited children from surrounding communities turned out. According to the release, he said that Christmas is one of the most anticipated holidays of the year and is celebrated by all Guyanese, regardless of their religious beliefs. The Head of State told the children that apart from the gifts and festivities,
Christmas is a special time when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
“Whether or not you believe that Christ was born on Christmas Day, what we do know is that children are important… We believe that you are the future of Guyana and day by day, year by year, we expect that things will be better and you all will be able to inherit a better country than we were born into,” he was quoted as saying by the Ministry of the Presidency.
The President also expressed his Administration’s appreciation to the founder of the Good Hope-Lusignan Learning Centre, Ms. Sandra Shivdat, who has been working in the Diaspora, particularly in the United States of America, to cater to the needs of children in that community. Last year, the Government donated $2M to the Centre to support its work.
Over at the Wilson Gas Station tarmac in Buxton, there was a similar atmosphere as hundreds of children from the Buxton-Friendship area showed up to meet the President and to receive their early Christmas gifts.
“Coming here is a very important part of our duty… Our Government is concerned about children, what is good for the children of Guyana is good for everyone in Guyana and if you can be happy, if you can be educated, if you can be well-fed and if you can be well-entertained, Guyana is going to be a better place,” the President said.
President Granger thanked Mr. Morris Wilson and his wife and Mrs. Jocelyn Wilson, who planned and organised the event, which he has personally attended for the past six years, at Christmas. The Wilsons also organise another activity at Easter as a way of giving back to the community.
