President’s Village gives back to community |27 December 2022

A cake is presented to a member of the community who helps to look after a number of children

After having received numerous donations and gifts from individuals and business organisations throughout the year, staff and children of the President’s Village this year decided to themselves give back to the community and others in need on Christmas Day.

The residents and management of the home went out towards the community to share gifts and sweet treats, fruit cakes, hampers and essential commodities to other children and families in need, a gesture which is to be observed annually from now on.

Accompanied by the chief executive of the National Council for Children (NCC) Yasmine Umarji, employees of the home started their day’s journey at the Port Glaud and Grand Anse churches whereby they offered the parish priest a Christmas pudding on behalf the kids and upon the conclusion of the service shared candies with the children, and stars of inspiration prepared by the 29 children residing at the home to families.

The team then took to the streets of Port Launay where they visited different families within the Port Glaud and Grand Anse community to share hampers, goodies, candles and to sing Christmas carols to the residents. They visited and donated to two families with disabled children, the family who recently lost their son in the bicycle accident, and young mothers within the community among others.

According to senior coordinator of home care at the village, Merenda Hollanda, the management and children of the home found it important to start the tradition of giving back to the less fortunate and to the community, especially since the village is overwhelmed with the generosity and kindness shown towards it and the residents over the year.

For the donations, each staff and child at the home was asked to donate either one small item from home, or from hampers which they had been gifted, and they were all more than generous, with the children going even further to donate even more than one item, she noted.

“This is but the start, but we will continue to go out towards the community. Our aim for next year is to reach out to the community, to show our gratitude to the community who keep giving to us. We may be going through a storm today, and it might not be today or tomorrow but we will emerge to see the rainbow,” Mrs Hollanda noted.

For this year’s festive season, the home decided to organise the activity and observe their Christmas under the theme ‘Let your light shine’.

Asides from being a pleasure for the residents and staff, the gesture was well appreciated by all those who they visited and extended their generosity towards.

Laura Pillay