In light of COVID-19 outbreak… CIOG distributes some 6000 food hampers nationwide

THE Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) distributed some 6,000 food hampers
nationwide to help vulnerable families withstand the negative fallout from the deadly COVID-19
global pandemic.
Ms. Shameena Haniff-Najab, CIOG General Manager in an exclusive interview
with www.aroundtheregions.com said her religious organisation has been helping families
around the country since the deadly outbreak hit Guyanese in March this year.
“We recognise that the pandemic is global, so we sought to help persons in Guyana for varying
reasons are severely and negatively impacted by the situation. Since we started in March, we
have distributed over 6000 food basket hampers countrywide,” Haniff-Najab said.
Haniff-Najab in the exclusive, her organisation’s work is supported by several government
ministries including the Ministries of Agriculture, Education, Health, Human Services and Social
Security “in having these distributions done in a number of areas.”
It is not only where we go to persons but persons can also visit our office, where they can also be
given some assistance,” the CIOG official reiterated.
The Muslim body is wary though of the unscrupulous in our midst and has put systems in place
to ensure “only those deserving of the assistance” will receive support packages. In addition,
their broad-based system also guarantees that all donations are properly accounted for to
maintain accountability and transparency.

She explained: “CIOG has Regional Vice Presidents throughout the 10 Administrative Regions
in Guyana so when persons come seeking help, a review is usually done, and for verification
purposes, the Regional Vice President of the particular Region is contacted to ensure that the
persons seeking help are genuinely in need of it. This is very important as we want to ensure that
our donors are satisfied that their donations are properly accounted for and disseminated.”
There are multiple local bodies which have ramped up their charitable distribution since the
outbreak of the pandemic and the CIOG wants to ensure that those who ‘shop around’ to get
from as many agencies as possible do not deprive others also in need.
“As such, persons receiving from other organisations are not given first preference as we seek to
reach as many persons as possible.”
Each hamper is valued at $12,000.00 and each recipient can reapply after their supplies are
finished, the CIOG official confirmed.
“We want to ensure that everybody is able to benefit that (and) we are impressed by the
overwhelming response that we continue to see from recipients,” she said.
Availability of food items and the decision of Committee members after evaluating the peoples’
needs will determine the longevity of the charitable programme.
“We are aware of the impact of this disease but we can only continue with the support of our
donors and stakeholders. We recognise how valuable this hamper is to families and we want to
continue doing what we do once the support continues to come in,” Haniff-Najab said.