Georgetown, Guyana- (August 21, 2015) President David Granger announced that the Government will be making available two hectares of land to Food For The Poor (FFTP) Guyana, for the construction of a larger facility to house its operations. This is in addition to duty-free concessions for all vehicles imported by the organisation to conduct charitable work and a fixed annual subvention commencing from fiscal year 2016.
This announcement was met with applause from the large gathering at FFTP’s annual fundraising dinner held last evening at Savannah Suite at the Pegasus Hotel, where President Granger attended with First Lady Mrs. Sandra Granger.
“My Government is committed to the objective of eradicating extreme poverty from our country within the next five years…it is a bold an ambitious goal but it is a necessary duty if we are to reclaim our human dignity, if we are to reclaim our self-esteem and self-respect and if this country is to develop,” President Granger said.
He emphasised that Guyana cannot claim to uphold human dignity when many of its citizens subsist on an income that is insufficient to provide for their daily meals.
“Respect for human dignity calls for a level of concern, a level of commitment and a call to action in eradicating extreme poverty from our society, Food For The Poor attempts to do just that but it has gone beyond providing hand outs, it has helped to empower individuals…helping people to help themselves,” the Head of State noted.
In this way, the President explained, the organisation has managed to wean many people off of dependency and elevated their lives from poverty to self-sufficiency by giving them a hand up rather than a hand out. He described the FFTP as a “God sent” and said that had it not been for this body, destitution in Guyana would have been even more widespread.
He called on citizens, especially corporate Guyana, to recognise their responsibility to help those in need, since Government cannot do it alone.
“With sufficient support, Food For The Poor’s work can be more impactful in alleviating poverty in our country,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer, Kent Vincent said that contrary to popular belief, FFTP does not have a lot of money at its disposal. The organisation depends on the support of donors, organisations, individuals and the Government, without which, its work would come to a halt.
FFTP has become the leading charitable organisation in Guyana since its establishment in Guyana in 1991. Its reach extends to throughout the 10 administrative regions in Guyana; providing food, clothing, shelter, sporting equipment and other essential items to thousands of less fortunate individuals.
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