President and First Lady spread Christmas cheer at Dharm Shala, maternity ward 

Georgetown, Guyana – (December 27, 2017) President David Granger and First Lady Mrs. Sandra Granger, on Monday, attended the Dharm Shala’s annual Christmas Luncheon at Albouystown, Georgetown, where he called on Guyanese not to lose focus on the meaning of Christmas. “Nothing is wrong with revelry and jollification but we must not lose the actual meaning of Christmas not as an event, but as an experience,” he said.

He explained that the birth of Jesus brought to mankind, the unmerited favour of grace and compassion and noted that the Christian experience does not come to an end on Christmas day but it is continuous. “Let us separate the event from the experience… Let us try to deal with each other, not on the basis of ferocity and enmity, but on the basis of compassion and grace which Jesus brought into the world,” the Head of State said.

The Dharm Shala, which has two branches, one in Fort Canje, Berbice and Georgetown, receives an annual Government subvention of $1M. Ms. Pamela Ramsaroop, who, along with her sister Ms. Kella Ramsaroop, runs the Dharam Shala, said that the institution also depends heavily on the donations of private individuals and firms.

The Dharm Shala, a home of benevolence for persons of all races and religions that was founded by the late Pandit Ramsaroop Maraj in 1921.

As with the visit to the Dharam Shala, the First Couple also stayed true to another Christmas morning tradition when they visited the Maternity Ward of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) to greet the 68 mothers, who are currently patients there. Up to the time of the President and First Lady’s visit, the hospital recorded five Christmas Day births. The happy mothers received gifts and special coins to mark the occasion.