UG brings Christmas cheer to vulnerable Children

Dec 20, 2025 News

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(Kaieteur News) – The University of Guyana’s Department of Events, Conferences, and Communication (DECC) on Friday hosted its annual Santa’s Helpers programme, aimed at assisting vulnerable children through gift-giving and festive activities. The event was held at the George Walcott Lecture Theatre and attracted more than 100 children and parents.

The programme was funded through contributions from DECC staff, who donated gifts, grocery hampers, and several household items to support families during the Christmas season. Children were selected from Sophia, Cummings Lodge, and other nearby areas, with the initiative intended to spread holiday cheer and ensure that children in vulnerable circumstances experienced a memorable Christmas.

Activities during the programme included storytelling by University of Guyana lecturers, carolling, and games such as candy hunting, musical chairs, and a piñata. Parents were also engaged through activities such as The Price Is Right, which resulted in the distribution of hampers containing self-care products and household items, including toasters and kettles, all donated by faculty and staff.

Children throughout the programme expressed excitement and joy, with one child stating, “I really am enjoying myself.” Many children responded enthusiastically when asked about their experience at the event.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Paloma Mohamed was also present and, in an interview with Kaieteur News outlined the mission behind the initiative. “This is a historical series of things that the University does. It started quite a number of years ago. It was Santa’s Helpers event, and they started very small,” she said.

She explained that the programme initially began as a nine-day festival during which staff raised funds to purchase gifts for children, but over the years it evolved into an annual celebration that expanded in scope. “Everybody pays their money, and then we buy gifts, but I think that the team at DECC has done really well this year. This year they have really expanded, because they add games, they add things for parents, etc., and so we make more and more children come out and experience this initiative,” she said.

Professor Mohamed praised the overall success of the programme, describing it as the most impactful to date. “I think it was phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal, I think it’s the best so far, and of course the biggest so far, because people were actually just walking in the door, I know that because they were coming to ask me what was going on here, and then they just stayed and you know, it is what it is, but the DECC really, excelled.”

She further explained that children are usually selected based on recommendations from surrounding communities and schools. “The children are chosen from the communities around, and the schools in the communities that is known in their estimation are the most vulnerable and needy, and so they send us names that we buy based on the information they give us.”

However, she noted that additional children who were not pre-selected were also accommodated. “So, we always have to have extra, and so on, because the idea is not to have any child leave without something, without a gift, without feeling treasured, special, without feeling seen.”

Emphasising the University’s responsibility to the wider community, the Vice-Chancellor said, “The general context for me is that you can’t be in a community, you can’t live in a community as a university for 60 something years, and not be responsive to everything that’s happening in that community, so this is only a part of what we do. This is something that always gives me joy.”

Looking ahead, Professor Mohamed shared her hopes for future editions of the programme. “One would hope that, you know, we’re able to always touch more children, but really and truly, I would hope, personally, that we don’t have among us people who are this vulnerable and this needy, because like today, we were giving people money to go home, and to me, that’s not something I would want to see in a country like ours, or any country, because let’s start with ourselves first,” she said.

She added, “So if we get to a stage where you don’t have a lot of rebel people, then we will change the tone of the party and do something else, but I think we would always have something, a Christmas cheer for children and for others, around. But I think it’s set to get bigger.”

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• Christmas cheer, Santa Helpers, University of Guyana, vulnerable Children

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