AS part of its ongoing efforts to foster good civil-military relations with communities, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) on Monday December 8, 2014, made a series of tangible donations to the community of Kaikan, located on the Wenamu River, near the Venezuela border.
Chief of Staff Brigadier Mark Phillips and a corps of senior officers, along with a medical team visited the location and handed over one 30hpYamaha outboard engine; a solar power system; one complete computer system for use by the school as well as five volleyballs for the community’s volleyball team.
Brigadier Mark Phillips, at the simple handing-over ceremony, noted that the initiative forms part of a wider commitment by the GDF to adopt the school and so, provide continuous assistance in any way possible.
Meanwhile, the medical team extended services to close to 40 persons who received treatment for a variety of illnesses.
The army has embarked on a similar initiative with the community of Cashew Island located at New River, where it has been providing assistance to the school there and catering to the education of the children of that small community. Cashew Island is located in close proximity to Base Camp Jaguar, near the Suriname border.
The GDF attaches importance to the education of the country’s youth which falls into a greater thrust of ‘Service’ to the nation and part of its role which specifies that it contributes to the economic development of Guyana.