Members of the local Guyanese community have banded together to help raise badly-needed cash and emergency goods and food to help thousands in their homeland that has been hit hard by recent floods.

Emergency relief drive-throughs are being held on June 19 in Brampton, at 75 Parkwood Square, and June 20 in North York, at 40 Carl Hall Road.

The drive-through drop-offs will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at both sites.

Badly- needed Items includes non-perishable food, money to purchase items in demand, gloves, cleaning items, garbage bags, baby and children items, mask, sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, hygiene kits, medicine and other cleaning and antiseptic materials.

The widespread flooding washed away roads, homes and farmland throughout the small South American country. More than 6,900 households across the country have been severely affected by the flooding in the past several weeks, according to government estimates.

The Government of Guyana has declared a disaster in response to the flooding that has affected all regions since mid-May.

Weeks of flooding continues in neighbouring Suriname, where over 10,000 people have been affected.

President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali declared Guyana a disaster on June 10.

Irfaan said a Tropical Wave embedded with the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITGZ) resulted in heavy rainfall during May, which was likely to continue until late June and possibly mid-July.

As many as 25,000 households have now been affected by the flooding in Guyana, according to the country’s Civil Defence Commission (CDC).

CDC has received reports of flooding in more than 300 communities across all regions of Guyana. It is  estimated that between 7,000 and 8,000 homes have been damaged. It is unknown how many people were killed by the flooding.

Irfaan said the flooding is one of the worst disasters the country has ever faced and projected that it will take some time for the country recover once the situation has abated. He appealed for aid from countries abroad.

Federal statistics show that about 70,000 Guyanese live in Toronto and about 200,000 make Canada their home.

For more information email governorp.p@gmail.com or phone 647-994-7443 or 416-993-9266.