Namalco to give out 3,000 hampers to families, children and elderly homes

Concerned that the covid19 pandemic has pushed many families into "survival mode" as they do not have food on their tables, Namalco Construction Services Ltd held a massive food hamper drive on Saturday.

Namalco’s project director Lenny Sookram said the company intends to give out an estimated 3,000 hampers between Saturday and the next few days.

Instead of having the recipients gather at the company based at Labidco Estate in La Brea, workers dropped off the items at their doorsteps. There was no need for any of the recipients to leave their homes.

"The objective is to give to people in dire need of help. We (staff) have studied different models, and in keeping with the covid19 guidelines, we came up with this model. We asked employees to recommend at least three people in need from their communities," Sookram said.

"We put their name, address, contact in our database. We expected to reach 2000 to 3000 people in need through this initiative. Our employee database has about 300 people. Today (Saturday), we are aiming to distribute about 1200, and the rest in the next two or three days."

The construction company has been in operation since 1998. Many workers loaded the hampers from the compound into marked company vans for distribution.

The company has seen the impact of the virus and how many people have been affected, Sookram told reporters.

"We know the severity of the virus. Our model prevents the gathering of people. That is why we are delivering instead of people coming here for hampers," he said.

"In addition to our database, we are working with religious organisations. The churches, mosques, and temples also provided us with a list of names and addresses."

A few weeks ago, the company partnered with the regional health authorities (RHAs)and provided support and relief to the health workers. Sookram recalled that about 300 of their frontline workers got food hampers.

He said, "very soon", they will again partner with the RHAs, this time to bring support and relief to people quarantining at home.

The drive also targeted children and senior citizens' homes. Sookram said organisers also liaised with councillors in the La Brea and Point Fortin area to identify people in need.

Namalco gave out 50 hampers to the Helena Charles Home for Senior Citizens at Pier Road, Point D’or Village in La Brea.

Augustine Pascall was happy to receive the hampers. He is the secretary of the board of directors and co-owner of the home.

The home, Pascall told Sunday Newsday, has a capacity of 23. But there are 17 residents in the home.

He referred to the gesture as wonderful as he adjusted the face mask of resident Petra Gregory.

Ahead of the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examinations last Thursday, Namalco gave out stationery kits including masks and sanitisers to more than 3,700 students from the St Patrick and Victoria educational districts.