Bun Pan pushes for founder to be recognized as national hero

The move to have Nathaniel “Bun Pan” Guy, the founder of the Marriaqua United Friendly Society, recognized as a national hero, is one of the items down to be undertaken by the organization that shares the same nickname as its founder.{{more}}

As the society celebrates its 60th anniversary during the upcoming twelve months, the Board of Directors has established a programme of activities to commemorate the existence the country’s oldest institution of its kind, which has dispensed an average of 400 death benefit claims every year for the past five years.

The organization intends to use the month of March 2015 to promote Guy, who founded the organization in 1954, as one of this country’s national heroes. To date, only one national hero, Paramount Chief The Right Honourable Joseph Chatoyer, has been named, with intentions to name others.

The society kicked off its year of activities with a media launch on Tuesday at the Fisheries Complex conference room, which saw chair of the organization Theophilus Shallow giving a history of Guy and the organization, which, at one stage in its existence, had half of the population of St Vincent and the Grenadines as members.

The activities will continue this weekend with a church service scheduled to take place at the Roman Catholic Church in Mesopotamia, and will continue throughout the year with a series of radio and television programmes, recruitment drives, and visits to collection centres.

A quiz and essay writing competition is slated to take place in September this year, with staff development workshops, panel discussions, and visits to honorary members among the events to be completed.(JJ)