OUR HISTORY

Nearly three decades of service

The National Commission on Disability was launched in December 1997. Its task was to make sure persons with disabilities in Guyana are seen, heard and included in national life. This is the story of how the Commission grew from a small advisory body into a statutory institution, and of the people who carried that work forward.

1997

The beginning of our journey

From an advisory commission to a statutory institution championing inclusion in Guyana.

Our journey / People and service / Honour roll / Historical archive

Our journey

Milestones in the Commission’s development, from its launch in 1997 to its work today.

1997

The beginning

On 10 December 1997, President Samuel Hinds launched the National Commission on Disability at the Office of the President. The founding Commission had 15 members. They came from non-governmental organisations, government ministries, the private sector, the trade unions and organisations of persons with disabilities. Bringing those voices to one table was itself a statement: disability is a matter for the whole of society, not for one ministry alone.

The founding-board records name Mr. Flavio Camacho as Chairman. Among its members were advocates who would serve for many years, including Barbara Lawrence, Evelyn Hamilton, Julie Lewis, Gregory Glasgow and Doreen Barrington.

2000

Building the office

In 2000 two appointments shaped the Commission for the next two decades. Mrs. Evelyn Hamilton became Chairperson, and Ms. Beverly Pile became Executive Secretary. With a steady secretariat behind it, the Commission could move from meetings to sustained programmes of advocacy, outreach and support.

The 2000s

The growing years

Through the 2000s the Commission was carried by committed volunteers. Commissioners came from the Guyana Society for the Blind, the Community Based Rehabilitation programme, parent support groups, human rights organisations and government. Records from 2008 to 2012 show a core group meeting regularly: Mrs. Hamilton, Barbara Lawrence, Julie Lewis, Gregory Glasgow, Hilary Christopher, Vidushi Persaud, Elizabeth Harper and Cecil Morris. Newer members joined them, including Andrew Green, Bibi Ramchan and Marilyn Griffith.

2010 to 2012

Becoming law

The turning point came when Parliament passed the Persons with Disabilities Act in late 2010, and President Bharrat Jagdeo assented to it. The Act was formally launched on 7 March 2011. On 7 May 2012 the Minister of Health issued the commencement order, and the National Commission on Disability became a statutory body with a legal mandate.

2014

Guyana and the world

On 10 September 2014, Guyana ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This placed the Commission’s work within an international framework of rights and accountability.

2015 to 2023

Holding steady

A new board was appointed in November 2015. Its term was due to end in 2018, but the political events that followed, including the no-confidence motion of December 2018, the change of government in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, meant no new board was appointed until 2023. The 2015 commissioners stayed on throughout, keeping the Commission’s work going through an uncertain period.

2023 onward

A new chapter

In July 2023 a new board was appointed. That same year the Commission mourned Mrs. Evelyn Hamilton, A.A., who passed away in October 2023 after nearly two decades as Chairperson.

Today the Commission continues to build the national register of persons with disabilities, and works with UNICEF on a national disability ID card.

PEOPLE AND SERVICE

Continuity at the heart of the Commission

Ms. Beverly Pile

Executive Secretary since 2000

Since 2000, Ms. Beverly Pile has served as Executive Secretary, providing continuity through changes in boards, governments and legislation. Her work carries the institution’s memory and its relationships with communities across Guyana.

Honour roll

Longest-serving commissioners

Commissioners recognised for longstanding service
Name	Years of service
Barbara Lawrence	1997 to 2023, about 26 years
Vidushi Persaud	2003 to present, about 23 years
Evelyn Hamilton, A.A.	1997 to 2019, about 22 years (Chairperson 2000 to 2019)
Gregory Glasgow	1997 to 2012, about 15 years
Julie Lewis	1997 to 2012, about 15 years
Ganesh Singh	2012 to present, about 14 years
Hilary Christopher	2000 to 2012, about 12 years

Staff

Ms. Beverly Pile, Executive Secretary since 2000. Ms. Brown, the Commission’s longest-serving member of staff.

In memoriam

We remember with gratitude the commissioners who have passed: Flavio Camacho, founding Chairman; Evelyn Hamilton, A.A.; Egbert Benjamin; Reuben Khan; Kenneth De Abreu; William France; Chandrowtee Ramnarain; Roy Hughes; Cecil Morris; and Elizabeth Harper.

Historical archive

Explore the records behind our history. Open a panel to read its summary and view the original record. Select “Open full-size scan” to enlarge a document.

A Launch of the Commission, 1997

Stabroek News, Thursday 11 December 1997, page 18: “National Commission on Disabilities launched.”

The article, at the top right of the page, reports that President Samuel Hinds launched the Commission the day before at the Office of the President. It was set up on the recommendation of the National Policy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, headed by Cynthia Massay, Director of the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre, and made up of 15 persons from NGOs, the ministries of health, education and social services, the private sector, the trade union movement and organisations of persons with disabilities.

Appendix A: Launch of the Commission, 1997. Scanned historical record; a summary is provided above.

B The first board, 1997 to 2000

The Commission's list of its founding board members, chaired by Mr. Flavio Camacho, with each member's organisation.

C Cabinet decision, November 2000

Cabinet decision CP(2000)11:3:H, appointing the board for two years, with Ms. Evelyn Hamilton as Chairperson and Mr. Rudy Collins as Vice Chairperson.