By LCN Business Desk
The smallest fundraising instrument in Guyana has been placed in front of the country's largest and fastest-growing crowd.
The Rotary Club of Georgetown Central delivered a spare change donation box to the departure lounge at Cheddi Jagan International Airport on Monday 29 September. It is a waist-high blue stand carrying the Rotary International wheel, the words "Make a Difference in Your Community" above "Donate Today", and beneath that "Your Donation Will Assist Those in Need". A QR code on the front invites travellers to scan for more about the club's work.
Departing passengers can drop in coins and small notes they will have no use for once they land.
Who handed it over?
Two club officers, to the airport's commercial manager.
The box was presented by the club's Administration Chair, Michelle Howard, and its Fundraising Chair, Keon Howard. Dacia Samaroo, Commercial Manager at Cheddi Jagan International Airport, accepted it on the airport's behalf.
"Every traveller passing through this lounge is holding a little spare change, and together those small amounts can become something meaningful," said club President Keisha Chung. "The Change for Community box is a simple way for visitors and Guyanese alike to leave a lasting mark on the country before they depart."
The club thanked the airport and its Chief Executive Officer, Ramesh Ghir, for hosting the box.
How many travellers will pass it?
Close to a million a year, on the airport's present run rate, and the number has been climbing steeply.
Passenger movements through Cheddi Jagan International Airport rose from 182,736 in 2020 to 973,016 in 2025, an increase of 432 per cent. The number of airlines and aviation companies operating in Guyana went from four in 2020 to sixteen this year, Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar said on Tuesday.
The lounge the box now stands in is also about to get busier. President Irfaan Ali said on 29 September that the Government is ready to finalise negotiations with an international airline to use Terminal 2 at the airport as its global hub, reported in Guyana Is Ready to Sign a Hub Deal for Terminal 2. Terminal 2 is a 150,000 square foot arrivals facility due on stream in 2028.
A collection box is a modest thing to put in a building on that trajectory. It is also the only fundraising method that costs nothing to run and asks nothing of the donor but a pocket.
What is the Rotary Club of Georgetown Central?
A club of more than four decades' standing, and the second of its kind formed in the country.
The club says it was chartered in 1983, the second Rotary club established in Guyana. The first, the Rotary Club of Georgetown, was constituted on 20 May 1959 and chartered by Rotary International on 28 February 1962, according to that club's own history.
Georgetown Central is club number 21395 in Rotary District 7030, which covers the southern Caribbean. The district lists Keisha Chung as its president, with Cilandell Glen as vice president, Quincy Richards as secretary, Jagdesh Haripershad as treasurer and Michelle Howard as executive secretary. The club meets on Thursdays at 6pm, alternating between virtual and in-person sittings, at the head office of the Institute of Private Enterprise Development on South Road, Georgetown.
Over four decades it has sponsored the formation of an Inner Wheel club, a Rotary club, a Rotaract club and four Interact clubs, the club says. Rotary's motto is "Service Above Self".
Where does the money go?
To the club's community service projects, and the club has not named a target.
All funds raised will go to community service projects supporting Guyanese in need, the club says. No collection figure, no target and no timetable has been published, and a change box raises what travellers happen to leave in it.
What a departure lounge offers that a street collection does not is a captive and repeated audience with a specific problem the box solves. Guyana dollars are legal tender in Guyana and nowhere else. A passenger boarding for New York, Toronto or Bridgetown is carrying notes and coins that will be worth the trouble of nothing once the aircraft lands, and most of that money simply goes into a drawer at home.
What the title card shows
Every data point on the article's title card, in text.
The panel, "The box, the club and the lounge":
- 29 September 2026. The date the Change for Community box was delivered to the departure lounge. Source: Rotary Club of Georgetown Central.
- 973,016. Passenger movements through Cheddi Jagan International Airport in 2025.
- 182,736. Passenger movements in 2020, giving a rise of 432 per cent.
- 1983. The year the club says it was chartered, as the second Rotary club formed in Guyana.
- 1959. The year the first Rotary club in Guyana, the Rotary Club of Georgetown, was constituted. Source: Rotary Club of Georgetown.
- 21395. The club's number in Rotary District 7030.
The footer strip:
- Four in 2020, sixteen now. Airlines and aviation companies operating in Guyana. Source: Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar, 29 September 2026.
- 2028. The year Terminal 2, a 150,000 square foot arrivals facility, is due on stream.
- Seven clubs. The Inner Wheel, Rotary, Rotaract and four Interact clubs the club says it has sponsored.
- Service Above Self. The Rotary motto.
What happens next?
The box stays, and the club has asked travellers to use it.
Rotary International describes itself as a global network of neighbours, leaders and problem-solvers who take action to create lasting change. The Georgetown Central club has spent forty-three years running that idea at the scale of one city.
The box in the departure lounge is the same idea at the scale of one pocket.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Change for Community box?
A spare change donation box delivered by the Rotary Club of Georgetown Central to the departure lounge at Cheddi Jagan International Airport on 29 September 2026. Departing travellers can leave coins and small notes in it, and a QR code on the front links to information about the club's work. All funds raised go to the club's community service projects.
Who handed the box over and who accepted it?
The club's Administration Chair, Michelle Howard, and Fundraising Chair, Keon Howard, presented it. Dacia Samaroo, Commercial Manager at Cheddi Jagan International Airport, accepted it for the airport. The club thanked the airport's Chief Executive Officer, Ramesh Ghir, for hosting it.
How busy is the departure lounge it sits in?
Cheddi Jagan International Airport handled 973,016 passenger movements in 2025, against 182,736 in 2020, a rise of 432 per cent. Airlines and aviation companies operating in Guyana rose from four in 2020 to sixteen in 2026.
How old is the Rotary Club of Georgetown Central?
The club says it was chartered in 1983 and was the second Rotary club formed in Guyana, after the Rotary Club of Georgetown, which was constituted in 1959 and chartered by Rotary International in 1962. Georgetown Central is club 21395 in Rotary District 7030.
How can someone contact the club?
Through its media contact, Gerard Khan, at [email protected], or on Facebook at rotaryclubofgeorgetowncentral.