First Lady meets with DeSantos Foundation to discuss areas of collaboration -NGO to launch Mentorship and Leadership Programmes in Guyana
Georgetown, Guyana – (August 25, 2017) First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, yesterday, met with Guyanese-Canadian and founder of the DeSantos Foundation, Ms. Veronica DeSantos to discuss possible areas of collaboration. The NGO provides school supplies and other basic necessities to children in need, especially those in New Amsterdam, East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six).
First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, is flanked by the founder of the DeSantos Foundation, Ms. Veronica DeSantos (second from left) and Ms. Celestine Kyte (from left), and Ms. Sharon Cox (first, right).
The First Lady told the visiting team that “it is always good when we have Guyanese in the Diaspora, who never forgot their roots and come back year after year and give back to their respective communities. It is a great help because some people are really in crisis and there are a number of other factors, which make education a challenge for some people.”
Mrs. Granger enlightened the team on some of her on-going programmes, including the Self-Reliance and Success in Business, ‘Care for the Elderly’ and the Information and Communication Technology Training Programmes, as well as the Kind Soles project, which supplies Hinterland children with shoes to attend school.
Ms. DeSantos also shared her plan to launch Mentorship and Leadership Programmes in Guyana for vulnerable youths. She said, “I am big on leadership. I do a lot of seminars. My goal here is… how do I get the students to go to university or college if they choose to? I have an idea of what I want. If you get one student to the university, hopefully that student would see the benefit and come back and help within their community.”
The First Lady encouraged the team to do follow-up sessions with the children they have assisted to monitor their progress and expressed gratitude for the offer of support on future projects.
The DeSantos Foundation was started in April 1986 and in addition to the work it does in Guyana, supports a number of charities, school snack programmes and food drives in Canada and has extended its Mentorship and Leadership programmes in the Philippines. Ms. DeSantos was joined in the State House meeting by two members of her organisation Ms. Celestine Kyte and Ms. Sharon Cox.
First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger shares some information with members of the DeSantos Foundation, on the Kind Soles Project, during a meeting today.
First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, today, met with members of the DeSantos Foundation. From L-R: Ms. Veronica DeSantos, Ms. Celestine Kyte, and Ms. Sharon Cox.