Rotary District Governor visits Guyana

Rotary District 7030 Governor Soraya Warner-Gustave is currently in Guyana for six days to better assess the community service efforts of local clubs. Warner-Gustave, the first Saint Lucian woman to hold this position, told the News Room that during her visit, she would meet with local leaders, youth groups, and volunteers.

Warner-Gustave said that the visit is intended to give her a clearer understanding of how clubs are responding to the needs of the communities they serve, while also motivating and inspiring members to continue their work.

“We want our clubs to understand the community needs of a particular environment and provide as much support as possible in collaboration with government, other stakeholders and corporate citizens,” Warner-Gustave said.

Rotary District 7030 brings together more than 2,400 Rotarians across 77 clubs in 17 countries and territories throughout the Southern Caribbean, stretching from St. Kitts in the north to Trinidad and Tobago in the south, including the Guianas – French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname. The local Rotaract includes six Rotaract clubs and nine Interact clubs, reflecting a strong youth presence.

According to Warner-Gustave, Guyana remains one of the district’s strongest Rotary groupings.

“Guyana is really one of our strongest Rotary groupings. The clubs here are very passionate and deeply rooted in their communities,” she said.

She explained that Rotary’s focus is not only on service delivery, but also on understanding club governance and the real impact of projects within each jurisdiction. Collaboration with government agencies, corporate citizens, and other stakeholders remains critical to ensuring sustainable development outcomes.

Assistant Governor Rafeek Kassim, who oversees Rotary’s local operations, said Rotary’s work has a meaningful impact but it often does not receive widespread recognition.

“Sometimes our work goes unnoticed, and sometimes we don’t have the spread of the work that we do,” Kassim said.

He highlighted several projects currently underway in Guyana, stressing that most initiatives are driven by detailed needs assessments. These include cervical cancer screenings in the Rupununi, as well as diabetes testing and dental outreach programmes in various communities. It also works with the Government to facilitate the distribution of $10,000 Ministry of Health vouchers to underserved communities. It also supports a shade-tunnel agricultural project where tomatoes and celery are being cultivated for community use while also providing an income-generating opportunity at Yarrowkabra and a childhood obesity prevention initiative promotes the consumption of water instead of carbonated and sugary beverages.

“Our projects are based on need assessments. Sometimes you can put the impact in numbers, and sometimes you can’t but when you go into the communities, you will definitely see the difference that we make,” he said.