Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jun 01, 2014 News
“I don’t regret it. If I had to do it again, I will. I feel nice when you do something to help somebody or you do something for the community—it makes you feel that you are serving a purpose, rather than doing other things which are not helpful.”
By Leon Suseran
The life of Gyandat Marray, popularly known as Rohan Marray, has been one lived in continued and dedicated service to society and community. His list of community contributions is quite long, having served in numerous committees, organizations and attended numerous international and regional conferences on various topics and issues. He has been a Rotarian for over 22 years.
He also held a number of firsts including becoming Guyana’s first Pharmacist without being on a Government contract from the University of Guyana.
CHILDHOOD AND EDUCATION
Gyandat Marray was born to Gurdat and Chandrawattie Marray at Number 64 Village, Corentyne. His father was an Overseer with the Numbers 57-66 Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) in those days. Reflecting briefly on his childhood days, he remembered a lot of playtime. “We used to play a lot of cricket, and I liked table tennis, and other things like sal-pass and marble—all those things. Childhood days were nice those times, unlike now.”
He obtained his early education at the New Market Primary School followed by the Skeldon Line Path Secondary, having passed seven subjects and being among the best graduates of that school. He taught briefly at his Alma Mater, and also at the Corentyne Comprehensive High.
Afterwards, in 1978, he commenced reading for his Bachelor of Social Sciences Degree where he majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry at UG. In the midst of studying there, he became enlisted in the Guyana National Service (GNS) and stationed at Kimbia. “We made some friends. We had drilling…the discipline….I made the most of it,” he recounted.
After UG, he worked at the Central Corentyne Secondary School at Bush Lot for about a year. He further enhanced his working skills by becoming employed by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) for a similar period at the Albion Estate as a Field Superintendent.
While working there, his brother, Fr. Santosh Marray, a priest in the Anglican Church in Guyana, “had a vacancy at a school in The Bahamas owned by the Anglican Church.” Gyandat then migrated to The Bahamas in 1984 and taught for a year after which he returned to Guyana.
It was at this point that Mr. Marray became involved in the pharmacy business by purchasing same from Mr. Milton Ganpatsingh, who owned Milton’s Drug Store at New Street, New Amsterdam, in 1985. Marray and his family then moved from Corentyne to New Amsterdam. He started to operate the business, which he does to this day, making it one of Berbice’s oldest and leading pharmacies.
Having the need for a qualified pharmacist to ensure quality service, Marray re-commenced studies at UG where he completed a Diploma in Pharmacy in 1988.
“I was the first person who did the programme without being contracted to the government—everyone who did pharmacy had to be contracted…but they relaxed the rules and I was not contracted.”
SERVICE TO CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Mr. Marray has held several positions in various clubs and organizations. He began by becoming involved in the Rotary Club of New Amsterdam in 1992. Over the years, he held various positions in that organization including Secretary, Treasurer and Director. Notably, he was elected President twice, from 2000-2001 and 2010-2011.
He mentioned an important project which he oversaw during his tenure. In 2001, the club was able to do a number of cataract surgeries—over 300—with the help of Dr. Rishi Ramharack, “and at the time it had cost between $200,000-$300,000 at the hospitals, but we were able to source the materials—the lens and syringes and so, from India, and we provided them and the doctor did the surgeries.”
Marray was pleased about that project, especially relating to the number of persons it benefitted. Other projects, he mentioned, include numerous medical outreaches and literacy programmes, book distributions and numerous donations, which were carried out with assistance from resource persons, of course.
“I like Rotary because it gives you an opportunity to serve society, and also you meet a lot of people and make a lot of friends,” he added.
As a result, the club received a Presidential Citation, a very special commendation from the international body, Rotary International.
In the past, Mr. Marray served as President of the Berbice Chambers and also on the N/A Secondary School Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), twice (2003-2005 and 2009-2011). He was also a Master of the Ituni Lodge from 2009-2011.
Currently, Mr. Marray serves as the Secretary of the Rotary Club of New Amsterdam; Secretary of the Berbice Chambers of Commerce and Development Association (BCCDA); Chairman of the Association of Regional Chambers of Commerce (ARCC); Member of the New Amsterdam Secondary School (NASS) Board of Governors; Member of the New Amsterdam Technical Institute (NATI) Board of Governors; and Member of the National Competitiveness Council of Guyana. He has also been a life-member of the Guyana Pharmacists’ Association (GPA) since 2004.
When asked how he has the time to serve on all those bodies and organizations, he said they meet mostly in the afternoons. “I use up the time that I should have had for myself to do community work and I might have to go to a meeting or so in Georgetown and my wife assists with operating the business in my absence.”
He said he was able to do these things due to him making maximum use of his time.
He is quite pleased about his life.
“I don’t regret it. If I had to do it again, I will. I feel nice when you do something to help somebody or you do something for the community—it makes you feel that you are serving a purpose, rather than doing other things which are not helpful.”
Also being in the pharmacy arena for many, many years, Marray says that he was able to help a lot of people.
“People come to you for advice and you are able to help them and many of them come back and tell you that the thing you gave them helped them, so you get satisfaction and it is a good profession—I don’t look at it as a profit-making thing, I look at it as servicing the people, and at the same time, you make a living.” His drug store, he stated, “has a reputation of selling at a reasonable price and giving good service over the years.”
He has attended numerous Rotary and Pharmacy international and regional conferences in Jamaica, Bahamas, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Trinidad, French Guiana, Suriname, etc. In 2004, he attended the first Caribbean Association in Pharmacy’s USAID HIV/AIDS Conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica, which involved over 360 stakeholders in health.
ISSUES OF CONCERN
Some issues that he feels bothered about include teenage pregnancy, domestic violence, poor garbage collection and indiscipline of students in schools in Guyana.
He believes ignorance is the root cause of domestic violence, “because it mostly happens within the poor community—the male wants to dominate and what they do is that when they cannot dominate, they resort to violence.” He believes the churches can do more work.
Speaking about garbage collection, Mr. Marray believes that this needs to be improved, especially in New Amsterdam. He mentioned a lot of mentally-ill persons who also dump garbage all over. He believes the government and Ministry of Health can look at the mentally-ill in the town, “who also threaten people and curse them.”
The cause of indisciplined students, he believes, is broken homes.
“Maybe children want to be like their friends…they want to show their manhood and want to do things. Right now they have gangs in schools, so more work needs to be done in the schools.” Corporal Punishment, he said, might not really help.
“That is outdated and is against international rules and conventions, so maybe more dialogue… but you have to talk to children when they are small, and not wait until they get more indisciplined as they get older.”
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
Mr. Marray has received numerous awards throughout the years, including for outstanding service to the Rotary Club in 2005 as well as Rotarian of the Year. He received an award from Rotary International for dedicated service in 2007. At that time, he was named a Paul Harris Fellow in “the application of tangible and significant assistance given for furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.”
Mr. Marray is one of the few Rotarians in Guyana who has achieved 100 per cent attendance as well. Among the ideas he and his group at Rotary New Amsterdam are toying with include plans for better garbage disposal in New Amsterdam; benches for Republic Road and an athletic track in the Esplanade Recreational Gardens. That facility was built by Rotary Club in the 1980s during a Charter Project.
Mr. Marray is happily married to Selina Tiwari. They have three lovely daughters—Eileen Marray—UG Valedictorian (2013) and Top CAPE student for Guyana in 2010; Christine Marray, employee at Bank of Baroda; and Kathrine, also a qualified Pharmacist.
For all his achievements and work as a community-oriented Guyanese, Mr. Marray is deservedly recognised as this week’s ‘Special Person’.
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