$1.6M clean water project commissioned at Overwinning Primary School

The Rotary Club of New Amsterdam and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have inaugurated a $1.6 million clean water project at Overwinning Primary School situated in Greater New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). The project aims to provide clean, safe water for the students and staff. Almost 200 students will benefit from the project.
The Clean Water Project, initiated in 2016 by Rotarian Roger Greenidge, addresses the critical need for clean water at the school. The project focuses on removing impurities from the iron-laced, untreated well water by processing it through an advanced filtration system. This effort significantly reduces contamination, ensuring safer drinking water for the school community.
At the commissioning ceremony, President of the New Amsterdam Rotary Club, Rafeek Kassim pointed out that the project was funded entirely by the Church of Latter-day Saints which has partnered with the club on similar projects over the past eight years.
“If you were to go to New Amsterdam Hospital at the moment, you will see another project ongoing. That project had some hiccups with the filtration system, but these schools already have the filtration system but the hospital also has a water dispenser.”
Among the schools that have already benefited from similar projects are All Saints Primary, Manchester Secondary, Berbice High, Rose Hall Estate Primary, Berbice Educational Institute, Canje Secondary, McGowan Primary, Cumberland Primary, Edinburgh Primary and Nursery, St Therese Primary, Canje Secondary and Tutorial Academy Secondary.
Public Relations Director of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Attorney-at-Law Leslie Sober explained that it was not just in Guyana that the church has been funding such projects, noting that he has been spending significant sums of money ensuring the development of the welfare of the people in the area that the church seeks to serve.
“The church does not look at creed, race, religion, or any other affiliation. As a matter of fact, we have a yearly activity which carries the slogan ‘helping hands’ where we go out into the communities and do work. So this project today is not the only area of assistance that the church extends. Our members do it individually. Our members are also members of other organisations that help other persons and the church of itself, as is the case today, does this type of work.”
Meanwhile, among the other areas of focus of the New Amsterdam Rotary Club are: promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water and sanitation, hygiene, saving mothers and children, supporting education, and growing local economies. (G4)