Demerara Bank Limited is the first commercial bank in Guyana to be powered(From left) Seated at the head table, Demerara Bank CEO, Pravinchandra Dave, Chairman of the Board of Directors,Cheap Jerseys From China, Dr. Yesu Persaud,Cheap Jerseys From China, President David Granger and Director of Demerara Bank Ltd. Garfield Wiltshireentirely by solar energy. The Bank’s branch at 214 Camp Street, North Cummingsburg, which was commissioned in November 2015, has installed 316 solar panels on its roof, making it completely independent of the national grid.The institution commissioned the project yesterday.According to the Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Pravinchandra Dave, the idea behind making the bank solar-powered came about after President David Granger challenged the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Yesu Persaud, to expand in the area of Green Initiatives.He said that before the project could be undertaken, a plan was developed to include the performance of a technical feasibility study along with the commercial viability of the project, which all generated positive results.The CEO said that the architecture of the building was designed particularly to allow for the maximum exploitation of the natural sunlight. Additionally, the equipment with which the building is equipped saves energy.For example, the bank installed energy efficient Samsung Air Conditioners and LED lights which will save 30 per cent on energy. In total there are 52 AC units and 200 lights in the building.A section of the solar panels on the roof of the camp street building.Further, the interior glass used is said to be of a kind that does not allow heat from the lights to penetrate, which, he said, also reduces the amount of energy consumed.It had cost the bank,Cheap Jerseys Store, which is 25,000 square feet, $775M to construct while the total cost for the solar plant is $28M. Along with the 316 panels,NHL Jerseys Authentic, there are 216 batteries and seven to nine inverters. The CEO said that the batteries when fully charged can supply the bank with power for three days.In the event that the batteries cannot be recharged from solar energy, there is a generator which can charge the batteries fully in the space of two hours. He said that the bank only uses the generator twice per week for maintenance purposes.After the physical study was done, it reported that the bank will need about 75 to 80 kilowatts. However, the CEO said that the entire solar project has the capability of providing 125 kilowatts since the entity is catering for future demands which may arise.Chairman of the Board, Dr. Yesu Persaud, said that he was proud of the bank for making the big step since it is showing the world that an unknown company in a small third world nation can do so much.He congratulated President David Granger for promoting the green economy, but stressed that the country should also aim to be prosperous. The Chairman said that as part of the services offered by the bank, it will now offer loans to persons for green projects at a special rate of eight per cent.Additionally,Wholesale Jerseys Store, he said that the bank will begin to make donations to a number of institutions such as elderly homes and orphanages in the form of LED lights so as to reduce the electricity bills.Delivering the feature address was President Granger who promised that Guyana will move closer to full renewable energy by 2025.Granger said that Guyana is in a better position than other Caribbean countries at tapping into solar power generation. He congratulated the bank for being a beacon of inspiration to other private sector entities to invest in solar energy to power their establishments.The Head of State said that Guyana can generate solar power on an industrial scale particularly because of the amount of sunlight the country gets especially in the interior regions.According to the President,NFL Jerseys China Cheap, Guyana has a number of resources which it has not yet exploited. He said that the green energy revolution is gaining momentum.

FROM MADAME DEOLATCHMEE RAMOTAR, FIRST LADY OF GUYANAIt is with extreme happiness that I extend Diwali greetings to all Guyanese but more especially to the Hindu community for whom this festival is a joyous occasion. Diwali signifies the victory of good over evil; of life over death and light over darkness.I trust that these universal messages would touch every heart in our nation and that the torch of enlightenment would brighten those dark crevices, such as ignorance and greed which may exist within our midst.Diwali is not just about celebration. There is a personal element that requires all of us to bring light to those areas of our lives and of the lives of those in society which are in darkness; to eradicate greed and ignorance, to reject violence and hatred and to banish ill-thoughts and needs. It is a time for festivity but also a call for personal and community action to bring brightness into the lives of others.May the modesty of the simple ‘diya’ that is lit at this time remind us all that no matter how limited our means are we can all contribute to making our country and our world a much brighter place by generously illuminating the lives of others through doing good and through being good.May our own personal example come to signify the conquest of good over evil.A happy Diwali to all!*****FROM THE PEOPLE’S NATIONAL CONGRESS REFORMThe People’s National Congress Reform extends friendly greetings to all of the Guyanese people, but particularly to the members of our Hindu Community on Deepavali.Our Party recognizes that Deepavali – the Festival of Lights – should enliven all; young and old, men and women, rich and poor; in towns and communities throughout Guyana. It should be a unifying and integrating force which encourages goodwill, joy and friendship that bring all the people of Guyana together.In the religious context, the Goddess Maha Lakshmi – the Goddess of Light – is worshipped for wealth and spiritual enlightenment.This year we are forced to revisit many of the themes from previous years? because the PPP/C Administration has accelerated its confrontational approach towards the National Assembly while continuing to violate the fundamental tenets of our parliamentary democracy, particularly their refusal to govern in accordance with the rule of law and to recognize the law-making and oversight role of the National Assembly vis-?-vis the executive branch, the people of Guyana are seeing the light disappearing while a gathering storm looms on the horizon. The symbolism of the triumph of light over darkness now carries a powerful message for the Guyanese nation.In the circumstances, the PNCR invokes the blessings of Mother Lakshmi to end this darkness so that our dear land can once again experience peace, prosperity, good governance, equity, security, a culture of civility,NCAA Hockey Jerseys, and good order.A HAPPY AND JOYOUS DEEPAVALI TO ALL GUYANESE!*****FROM THE ALLIANCE FOR CHANGEAs we prepare to celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, the Alliance For Change sends special Diwali greetings to our Hindu brothers and sisters and to all Guyanese.The Festival of Diwali or the Festival of Lights, as it is also known, is of special religious significance to Hindus as it marks the return of Lord Rama after 14 years of exile. To welcome his return and to light his path, ‘diyas’ were lit.This year, as we light diyas and admire the light that shine brightly from such little lamps, symbolising the triumph of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance, let us all commit that our lives will be as lights shining forth to unmask evil, lawlessness and corruption.Diwali is a celebration of life itself and that the lights and diyas represent hope for all humankind regardless of faith or ethnicity. Let us be the light we want to see in others and let our little light fill the world around us. Let us be the example that good will always triumph over evil.Happy Diwali to all Guyanese.****FROM THE GUYANA AGRICULTURAL AND GENERAL WORKERS UNION (GAWU)Light Up Minds,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, Lighten Burdens.? Illumination. Light. Vision. Enlightenment. These words and concepts tend to convey the spirit of Diwali,wholesale soccer jerseys, the Hindu Festival of Lights usually celebrated at this time of year. Now a nationally-embraced public holiday, Diwali captures the attention and even participation of thousands of Guyanese citizens including non-Hindus.The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), home to a great number of Hindu union members, enjoins the Hindu community especially to find innovative, practical and productive ways to influence national leaders to indeed light up their own minds and other faculties in pursuit of the greater good for Guyan

By Sharmain Grainger“Regardless of how physically healthy you are, if you are not mentally healthy it simply doesn’t count.”Executive Director of GBCHA, Ms. Suzanne FrenchThis profound statement was recently vocalized by Executive Director of the Guyana Business Coalition on Health Awareness (GBCHA), Ms. Suzanne French. And it was to address issues such as mental health, among others, that affect people in our society that the GBCHA, a not for profit organisation, redefined its focus in 2012.French, during a recent conversation with me, considered that many of the persons who would have opted to commit suicide did not display any evidence of physical illness. It was only after they would’ve committed the act of taking their own lives that others, sometimes even close family members and friends, realized that they were mentally unhealthy.“The people we read about who jumped off of the Kaieteur Falls and things like that they appeared physically fine, but if you are not sound then being physically healthy is in vain,” French theorised.As such, she noted that GBCHA has been seeking to throw its support behind helping to tackle mental health.? French is convinced that her organization is especially poised to lend immense support towards Guyana’s suicide prevention efforts. This is in spite of the fact that there are numerous other organizations that have been delving into the suicide prevention arena.But French explained that since GBCHA already has been collaborating closely with the employees of many organizations (its membership) some of whom have been trained as peer counsellors, the message of suicide prevention can be channelled through this avenue.“We are the only association of business entities which focuses specifically on health. In terms of promoting good corporate and social responsibility, we can say that GBCHA members are exemplary in doing that,” French boasted.And since mental health has become for the main focuses of the public health sector, GBCHA has decided to incorporate this as one of its areas of focus as well.“This is one of the areas that we are going to be paying specific attention to this year. We will be training counsellors instead of just peer educators. People might just given a flyer, a brochure or a talk…but we will be looking more at helping people to see there are options,” French disclosed. She pointed out that “the issue really is not suicide; suicide is the end result, that is what we see, but the issue that must be addressed is helping people to cope with the things they face and those are the things that we are going to be focusing on a lot this year.”It is the expectation of GBCHA to train counsellors who will be able to work with mentally troubled individuals, some of whom are in the workforce. And it is expected that these persons could be educated about the signs of depression and other mental conditions that may manifest among their family members, friends or others within their communities.Some participants of a peer educator training programme.“We can only give people advice, but the counsellors will work with individuals to help them make wise choices. They will also make referrals to the relevant agencies if they recognize that deeper intervention is needed,” French added.One of her observations is that “people aren’t talking to the right people about things that affect them. We see people talking a lot on Facebook…people are voicing a lot of opinions about others, but when people right next to them have issues they don’t have the answers. So we are trying to work with employees who have the interest and skill set so that they can notice certain behaviours.”The aim, according to French, is to be proactive in promoting “mental healthiness” in society.? She therefore underscored that the more people GBCHA, with the support of its members, invest in training, the more people will be made aware of their mental health state, and by extension, be in a position to help bring about a needed change. This is important, she added,Cheap Jerseys Online, “because people can’t change their behaviour or help in this regard if they themselves don’t know what changes need to happen.”GBCHA will select persons in the workplace for training based on their impact, reach and competence, according to French. This therefore means that an assessment will be conducted of employees, some of whom have already been trained as peer educators.“We will be looking to train people like human resource and personnel managers, other supervisors and people of influence who might already be dealing with people faced with issues all the time.? People might be unproductive in their workplace, but it may not be because they are lazy, it could be that people have real deep issues.”Currently GBCHA has over 25 privately-operated organisations and five semi-autonomous agencies, some with a presence in multiple administrative regions.? All of the

The family of Mackenzie High School CAPE student, Denilson Rose,Cheap Authentic Jerseys, is crying for justice. They say that the driver of the car that hit and killed Rose and drove away is walking around free.DEAD Denilson RoseRose was hit and dragged along the Washer Pond Road on October 24, last,Wholesale Jerseys China, between 03:00 hours and 04:00 hours,Cheap NFL Jerseys From China, before the driver came to a halt and reversed to unhook him from the car.According to the Commander of ‘E’ Division, Assistant Superintendent Brutus,NFL Jerseys Outlet, the suspect was released from custody after 72 hours in custody. He is a serving member of the Guyana Police Force and has returned to work. Brutus said that the file has been forwarded to the DPP for advice.The autopsy which was performed by the Government Pathologist, confirmed that Rose died of injuries sustained from the hit by the car. According to the Pathologist, Rose was hit from the back and died on impact from the fall. He was dragged causing the injuries on his body.Residents of Linden and the relatives of the deceased, are peeved that the suspect has not been charged as yet. They say that he was driving under the influence of alcohol, failed to stop and render assistance and driving above the speed limit.The dead youth’s mother,Wholesale NBA Jerseys, Anne Rose, a serving member of the Guyana Police Force is crying for justice. She said,Wholesale NFL Jerseys Online, “My son was only 17 and he get a cruel death.” She noted that she is in constant contact with the Commander and she is waiting for a favourable response from the DPP.”According to one girl who was in the car at the time of the accident, she saw someone lying on the road with one hand on the forehead and she shouted to the driver, but the music was playing very loud. She noted that when the car came to a halt she got out of the car and ran but subsequently got back into the car and went home.The students of Mackenzie High School are peeved that justice has not prevailed as yet. They intend to protest until their friend’s killer is charged.“We intend to take to the streets. The other day when duh man knock down de 17-year-old boy in Sheriff Street, he get charge and wha happen now?”Residents noted that the suspect is seen at popular night spots drinking and driving and on television promoting a party. One resident who asked not to be named said “How he could be drinking again and driving and he kill a young boy? He should be jailed. And he deh pon tv promoting party. De police shoulda tek way he licence.”Denilson Rose was a footballer and the last goal scored for his school in the Digicel Secondary School competition 2015 was scored by him. At the recent Prize Giving Exercise at Mackenzie High School, he was awarded posthumously for his academic performance.The school will be replacing the Best Business Student henceforth with the “Rose Award” in honour of him.