President Jagdeo drops in at children’s Christmas party
Guyana Chronicle
December 20, 2004
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo assisted officers of the Mon Repos Gender and Development Centre in treating hundreds of East Coast Demerara youngsters at a children’s Christmas party yesterday afternoon.
More than 600 children drawn from the villages of Mon Repos, Annandale, Lusignan and Triumph were invited to the event, which was held on the grounds of Gender Development Centre.
The children were each given a delicious meal followed by serving of ice cream. Many of them were happy to meet President Jagdeo, who took time out to chat with them and to pose with them for photographs.
According to Mrs Parbo, Coordinator of the Mon Repos Gender and Development Centre, over $400,000 was spent to purchase presents and prepare meals for the children's party.
The boys and girls were treated to delicious Yuletide goodies, and then entertained with rousing Christmas music. Later, each youngster received a gift from President Jagdeo.
This is the second year that the Mon Repos Gender and Development Centre has hosted a party for East Coast children, and so successful has it been that it seems destined to become an annual event.
The Mon Repos Gender and Development Centre is the realisation of a promise made by President Jagdeo under the President’s Youth Choice Initiative (PYCI) Project.
The two-storeyed building houses an office and a library upstairs, while the bottom flat is used to conduct training sessions in vocational skills for women.
Mentor of the Centre is Mrs. Indra Chandarpal, former Minister within the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security. Recently, Mrs Chandarpal called on women on the lower East Coast to make full use of the equipment and training offered by the facility.
She also appealed to the young people to use the library as part of their own efforts at developing themselves. Chandarpal had also disclosed that President Jagdeo has promised to supply the Centre with computers, which will be accessible to youths next year.
The Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO), women’s arm of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), has contributed significantly to making the Mon Repos Gender and Development Centre a success. (Government Information Agency)