Guyana UK Social Development Association (GUSDA)
The Guyana UK Social Development Association (GUSDA) is a charitable voluntary organisation founded in 1995, under the name Guyana Charity Ball, by a group of Guyanese promoters and Djs who wanted to give something back to the community.
In 2004 the organisation was constituted and until April 2017 operated under the name Guyana UK Sports Development Association (GUSDA). It's prime purpose has been to assist in the development of sports in Guyana and of Guyanese in the UK. In April 2017, the Association decided to change its name to Guyana UK Social Development Association to broaden the scope of its activities and encompass a range of social development issues while retaining its acronym GUSDA.
In addition to sport, GUSDA will seek to lend its support in the areas of education, culture, health including mental health and general well-being. It will focus primarily on the young and the elderly.
Over the last 20 years, GUSDA has supported several worthy causes. In 2016 as part of the Guyana Golden Jubilee commemorative activities, in conjunction with the Guyana UK Consortium, the Association donated £1000 to Uncle Eddie’s Home for the Elderly in Guyana through that organisations patron, His Excellency Hamley Case, the High Commissioner of Guyana to the United Kingdom. A similar donation of £1000 was also made to the Amos Bursary in the United Kingdom whose patron is another UK Guyanese stalwart, Baroness Amos. The Amos Bursary supports boys of Caribbean heritage attending University in achieving their career ambitions.
In June 2017 GUSDA donated £500 each via the reigning Miss Guyana UK, Lauren Hosannah, to the Psychiatric Hospital in Berbice, Guyana and Joshua House Children's Home in Georgetown. At the Guyana Speaks (GS) event in December 2017 GUSDA presented a cheque representing £2000, via the High Commissioner of Guyana, to the Empowering Women's Programne run by Guyana's First Lady Mrs Granger. At the same event GUSDA also pledged a further £200 per year for 5 years towards assisting the indigenous Wakapoa community in Guyana in preserving their native language and culture.
GUSDA's Valentine's Dinner & Dance will be the first of 3 flagship annual events to continue raising funds to fulfil the association's aims and objectives.
For more details on GUSDA and its events visit: www.gusda.uk