The Guyana Foundation recently completed a village renewal project at Capoey, which is located on the Capoey Lake in the Pomeroon/Supenaam Region of Essequibo.
This was done in collaboration with the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. The work of the project is approximately $15 million. In addition, the funds received by the foundation from the Estate of Mr. Glynn Ludlow Hunte, a Guyanese who resided in the United Kingdom, assisted greatly in making this project possible.
The Guyana Foundation, from its work in the region, was able to visit the village of Capoey and selected 18 people, -17 females and one male – who attended a skills training course to become bakers at the foundation’s Sunrise Center at Zorg-en-Vlygt on the Essequibo Coast.
This lasted for three months and was taught by facilitators hired by the Guyana Foundation. Upon completion of the baking course, the persons selected were given training in basic financial and small business management.
The Guyana Foundation sourced state-of-the-art baking equipment out of the United States and brought it to Guyana. The equipment had to be delivered to the village around the back of the lake rather than across it. This was logistically challenging.
The Foundation was given an old building by the village council which had to be demolished and a new structure was built in its place. The contractor chosen for the job was Mr Romesh Bojraj.
This project fits into the type of work the foundation has been doing over the years to try to renew villages around Guyana, empowering women; empowering people, in general, offering them skills to uplift themselves. It is hoped that this bakery will now be able to supply the daily needs of the community. It will also be able to provide nutritious meals for the school children in the village.
As the bakery becomes more established, it is hoped that they will be able to supply surrounding villages as well as the entire Essequibo coastland.
Founder of the Guyana Foundation, Mrs Supriya Singh-Bodden, said that the question which is often put to her is: “why there is a need for charitable projects in a country with such vast oil wealth?”
She would respond: “until every single Guyanese, in all the regions of Guyana, of all ethnicities are able to lift their heads out of poverty and participate fully in the material wealth of the country, Guyana will remain poor, in her mind. Therefore, the work of the foundation must continue.”
The foundation looks forward to partnering with more agencies and individuals around the world to assist us in our mission to uplift the people of Guyana who are its only real asset.
At a ceremony held at Capoey village on Friday, May 7, the Capoey Sunrise Bakery was opened. In attendance were the First Lady, Arya Ali; Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips; members of the Regional Administration; members of the Toshao Council; Canadian High Commissioner, Mark Berman, and other invited guests from around Guyana. (Guyana Foundation press release)
