“We wanted to bring smiles to their faces,”

—– said Councillor Kristy Duggin—–

A REGIONAL Councillor and a non-governmental organisation (NGO) youth body teamed up
to bring Christmas cheers to some 150 children of Muritaro and Mallali two communities in
Upper Demerara/Berbice (Region Ten).
Regional Democratic Council (RDC) member Kristy Duggin representing the ruling Peoples
Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) coalition in the mining town Linden, and Youth In
Development, an NGO from Diamond, East Bank Demerara in Demerara/Mahaica (Region
Four), collaborated to provide a meal and toys for the 150 children.

“We wanted to bring smiles to their faces,” RDC member Ms. Duggin told
www.aroundtheregions.com in an exclusive.
The contributors to the scheme thought of the economic hardships and public health crisis
parents currently face and felt their intervention would help soften the severity of the ongoing
financial crunch.
“This was a very important project considering the impact of COVID. We recognised that
several parents and families would be hard-pressed to provide both gifts and/or food for their
children. As such, we sought to ensure that irrespective of their economic and or social situation
they can get a good Christmas party and a gift from Santa Claus this year,” Duggin said.
“COVID may have changed a lot of things but for the children Santa Claus still exists,” the RDC
official said philosophically.
Duggin and Chattergoon Jadoopat’s NGO youth group sponsored parties in which food and the
toys were distributed.
“We were very excited to see how such a simple party where we shared food, drinks and other
things along with gifts were able to impact significantly on the faces of not only the children but
their parents, as many parents expressed their profound thanks and gratitude to us for reaching
out to help them,” said Duggin, herself beaming with pride.

“We are happy that we could have made this impact on the many children that turned out and
like the group Youths in Development, I am committed to continuing this gesture next year as
there is evidence that reaching out to those in need is the best gift one can provide to persons
during this time,” Duggin said.
Representatives from the Ministry of Education and the Prime Minister’s office were also on
hand to witness the event.
They congratulated the organisers for sponsoring the gesture and lauded parents for the weight
they put on it by their presence.
The MoE and the PM’s office promised to help expand the initiative next year.