Soesdyke to benefit from multi-million dollar investment

Sep 07, 2012 News

A $25 million investment has been plugged into the Soesdyke community in the form of a sprawling pharmacy and gift shop intended to provide a service comparable to any obtained in Central Georgetown.
Well, at least this is according to Chief Executive of ‘The Outreach Pharmacy and Gift Shop’, Mark Ferreira.

The Outreach Pharmacy and Gift Shop

Ferreira, a Pharmacist himself, has been providing services to the area for more than a decade but he saw the need to expand.
Come Monday, the pharmacy service which was housed at Lot 79 Public Road Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara, will be relocated to a brand new air-conditioned location at Lot L Public Road Soesdyke, where according to Ferreira, “customers will benefit from greater privacy and a wider variety of services and commodities.”
A current resident of Eccles, East Bank Demerara, Ferreira grew up at St Cuthbert’s Mission, further down the Demerara River. He has a passion for serving rural communities. He was given the opportunity to invest at Soesdyke. “I recognised several years ago that rural communities are usually underserved and at times people feel that they can only get a good service or the right price in the city.”
Against this background, the businessman said that he has continuously been trying to improve his pharmacy service in the community and has had no regrets.
“I like the reception I get from the people, especially from the elder folks; they are just happy to have this service here and so it drove me to want to give them a wider range of things to choose from…I decided to put more into the business because what I am gaining is a real sense of satisfaction,” Ferreira confessed.
His heavy investments have allowed him to offer employment to some eight individuals. He is hoping to recruit more in the near future.
Aside from pharmaceuticals, the business place offers a wide variety of gift items, electronics, stationeries and confectionaries.