| (By Mondale Smith)The world is shaken. It has moved into reaching out to Haiti during it current disaster that has left between 45,000 to 50,Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys,000 dead and Guyana is not excluded.In addition to Government’s initial $1B (US$5M) to start the Guyana National Committee for Haiti Relief Fund, donations are continuing to pour in.Yesterday, Minister Priya Manickchand announced that the initial amounts collected from donations via a telethon on NCN was $8.74M.Yesterday at the Civil Defence Commission, Thomas Lands,China Jerseys Cheap, Norman McLean, handed over $500,000 representing a contribution from the Guyana Gold Miners’ Association to GNCHR chairman Minister Priya Manickchand and pledged that several individual miners will make additional donations that could reach as much as $5M shortly.“This is just our initial donation but miners such as Japarts, the Alphonsos, Omai and others will make donations shortly. The Guyana Pomeroon oil Mill has also pledged $500,000 worth of cooking oil.”Even as the telethon continued last evening on NCN, the Minister yesterday announced that the New GPC has also pledged $6M worth of medical supplies while BK International has pledged to avail a boat to ship supplies.“We are heartened by all those who gave to this effort be it $1000 or $1M and we are hoping that more pledges will continue to pour in to help our brothers and sisters in Haiti,” Minister Manickchand said.She also made it known that the President’s donation was an initial sum and that more could follow. While commending Trinidad and other Caribbean countries for their efforts the minister also commended US President Barack Obama for the US$100 million donation toward relief efforts.Dismissing talk of corruption and accountability on the part of the Haitian authorities, Minister Manikchand said the Guyana Government supported the current government of Haiti and remains committed to the efforts following the destruction that country has faced recently.The Minister said there are a few Guyanese families living in Haiti but the Ministry cannot account for them unless their relatives in Guyana submit their names to be entered into the database.“If people have families in Haiti we are asking them to contact the Ministry; we are willing to accept them (Guyanese families living in Haiti) if they want to be relocated but we cannot say off hand just yet if we will have to make arrangements to accept some Haitians too.”Yesterday during the handing over of the donations, private citizen Edward Shields handed over a cheque for $50,000. Minister Manickchand said that Guyana will decide on the way forward for delivery of funds and supplies after an assessment report from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management group of which Guyana is a member.During the earthquake, Guyanese Zulficar Mohammed was in Haiti attending a conference. He returned yesterday morning. He was scheduled to share his first hand experience on the ground last night on NCN as part of the Guyana relief drive.Among those present for the handing over ceremony were committee members Minister Robeson Benn, Pastor Raphael Massiah and Gem Roberts of GAP/Roar as well as head of CDC,NFL Cheap Jerseys, Chabilall Ramsarup.Schools are also getting involvedSchool of Nations has a sister school in Haiti called Zanuzi School. As one small contribution the School of Nations, along with Varqa Foundation, recently planned a car wash at Nations, 41 New Market Street today from 10:00hrs.School of Nations has been working for the past three months with 75 children and young people from Tiger Bay – with the children attending Nations each afternoon for free extra help with their school work. The children and youths from Tiger Bay will be helping with the car wash project on Saturday.Meanwhile, this publication understands that Saraswatti Vidya Niketan, a new private school donated $500,000 collected from students last evening while the equal amount was handed over from the Nirvana Humanitarian Society according to School Secretary Rohanie Singh.She said that Swami Aksharananda was carded to make the presentation.FITUG contributes to Haiti Disaster ReliefThe Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) has made a joint donation of $600,000 to the National Committee for Haiti Relief.The Federation, comprised of some 30,000 members from the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU),Cheap Jerseys, the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE),China Jerseys, the Guyana Labour Union (GLU) and the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU), was moved to collect and contribute this sum from its affiliates.Little persuasion was needed in the face of the horrific devastation by the earthquake in the already depressed CARICOM sister country.The union said, too, that there is the possibility that, either individually or collectively some further donation might be forthcoming from the trade union body.FITUG mourns with the survivors of Haiti but will lobby for long-term continuous reconstruction of that Caribbean State,Cheap Hockey Jerseys, even after the current relief and rescue operations are completed. |
