Dharm Shala makes Christmas appeal

At this time of year, around the Christmas season, the Dharam Shala, Home of Benevolence, makes its annual appeal to continue day-to-day operation of the 100-plus years of charity that provides feeding, clothing and housing to those who seek its assistance, free of charge.

The Dharm Shala

The Dharam Shala currently has a total of seven buildings built in Guyana, which are all devoted to humanitarian charity – four buildings of worship – two Anglican Chapels, two Mandirs. Five of those buildings are in Berbice, while the others are constructed around Georgetown.
The daily expenditure of these Institutions is exorbitant – electricity, water, telephone, stipends to staff, security, maintenance of buildings and so much more.
The term Dharmshala is associated with a building dedicated to charity and serving humanity and for the past century, the Dharam Shala (Home of Benevolence for all Races) in Guyana has been doing exactly that.
Pandit Ramsaroop Maharaj founded the charity in 1921 after travelling the length and breadth of Guyana. He was a gold dealer in his earlier years so that allowed him to travel the remotest parts of Guyana where he encountered the plight of his countrymen. He noted that there was a pressing need to improve the state of the people he saw on those trips.
Being a person that was deeply religious and lived by the virtue of serving humanity, the pandit decided that he needed to do something to help alleviate the suffering of his countrymen. He got some like-minded persons together and they agreed that they must play their part to help.
Fully charitable, the Dharam Shala calls on kind-hearted persons to help continue what Pandit Ramsaroop and his friends agreed to do, play their part to help better the lives of the people who need it, the people that are suffering.
The Dharam Shala calls for your help.
The gates of the Dharam Shala have been opened for all these years, and though some of the requests are very heartfelt experiences for those who manage the institution, more can be done to make sure the gates of the Dharam Shala remain open for another hundred years.
The Dharam Shala has done many charitable works by serving the sick, lonely, unloved, by providing them with a meal and a warm bed, and a place to call their home. Pandit Ramsaroop even constructed the Albouystown nursery when he was alive.
An official receipt will be issued for any donation received by the Dharam Shala. This can be sent to the Secretary, Dharam Shala, 140 King Edward Street, Albouystown. Tel: 2261817 or Mr Edward Boyer, National Hardware, Water Street, Georgetown.