From scarcity to generosity: OnAir Media shares Christmas cheer in vulnerable communities

Mark Murray was born in Linden, Region Ten before relocating to live with his grandmother in Georgetown at three years old. Raised by someone who worked as a cleaner in the public sector, his Christmas holidays were met with having to choose between the delicious pepperpot and black cake or a toy; almost always, the food came first. Now with his own business, Mark finds ways to bring smiles to the faces of less fortunate children at Christmas time.

Mark recalled that his grandmother grew older quickly leading to her retirement and the house being taken care of with just her pension. However, she did her best to ensure Christmas was celebrated the traditional way with the Guyanese dishes all have come to love.
“She decided to make the house feel like a home and provide food so at Christmas time I did not really have a toy and that made me feel a type of way when I see other children in the community with their toy,” he remembered.
After completing his secondary education at the East Ruimveldt Secondary School, Mark joined the local media at Channel 2 as a Transmission Operator. He soon developed a love for the media and two decades later, remains in the field of media consultancy. During his career, his interest has always been in providing a voice for Indigenous people, the poor, and the “powerless”.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the young journalist started a YouTube channel, OnAir with Murray, which received a positive response as family and friends encouraged him to launch a business.
A year later, he launched OnAir Media Consultancy, which provides a platform for young creatives to showcase their talents on projects for major companies in Guyana.
Resulting of his childhood memories, Mark decided that his business’ first project in 2021, under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) branch, would be a Christmas giveaway.
“I decided I’ll do a toy drive because honestly, I remember what it felt like not having a toy on Christmas morning…and Since it’s the pandemic, a lot of people lost their jobs, they didn’t have enough money to survive and they were just dependent on whatever help they can get,” he explained in an interview with the Guyana Times Newspaper.
To pull off this feat, he began advertising the toy drive through social media and many corporate sponsors including Ansa McAl and the First Lady’s Office who donated toys for distribution.
“Persons were excited to get on board with me,” he said.
In 2021, OnAir Media Consultancy successfully donated 300 toys to children and in 2022, this increased to 600. Growing further, the business donated 800 toys in 2023.
The team has visited less developed communities in Regions Three, Four, Six and 10 on each Sunday in December. The children are also provided with juices and snacks to keep them occupied as the team organises the items for distribution.
“We understood that there is a need for support in these communities and this was just our way of putting this little smile on children’s faces come Christmas morning,” he said.
“And one woman made me cry because she was in tears. She was like, ‘you guys don’t know how much y’all make me feel happy now because I had nothing to give these children and I didn’t expect y’all to come in our community to share this thing, and I really do appreciate it’. So it’s like those little things that keep you going and motivate you to keep on going,” Murray told Guyana Times.
He noted that the exposure of the communities also lent to upgrades in the road infrastructure and other amenities.
He pointed out that there have been instances where the children indicated that other toy drives were done in their communities and asked for them to give to those who did not receive them.
This year, the toy drive was scaled down as Mark is currently travelling abroad but all is not lost as friends and family stepping in to distribute toys in a Region Three Community. The team on Sunday travelled to Belle West squatting area on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD) to share the Christmas cheer with those children through a partnership with the Office of the First Lady.
This year also assisted in delivering toys, comforting snacks, and personal care items to children living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
However, if anyone is interested in donating toys to OnAir Media Consultancy, they can reach out to the social media pages and another distribution date can be arranged during the season.
“Next year, we’re going to go bigger and go harder,” Mark noted.