Wednesday, 14 June 2017

Pastor Joseph Persaud’s Hope is Rising: An Epic Event (The Pioneers 2017 Series – 5th Feature)




The Event/Initiative

Pastor Joseph Persaud of Liberty Bible Fellowship in Queens, New York had a God inspired idea to keep an event unlike any other in Guyana’s history. The nature of the event was an anti-suicide, anti-violence & job creation rally. The two day event was held at three different locations. On Friday, June 2, 2017 the event was held at the University of Guyana’s Tain campus at 3pm. Later that day a session was held at Town Hall, New Amsterdam for pastors and leaders in Berbice. On Saturday, June 3, 2017 the event was held at the Jubilee Park, and it attracted massive crowds.

The Passion
 
Pastor Persaud left Guyana 32 years ago yet he possesses a deep love for Guyana. He has a God inspired desire for the reduction of the issues that were meant to be dealt with through the event. Three weeks prior to the event he returned to Guyana after a decade to facilitate a conference at the Guyana Marriott Hotel with pastors and leaders for the launching of the project. He is passionate about making suicides in Guyana a thing of the past. His objective is to “… wipe out suicide above the global average in a year.”

In relation to the current suicide rates in Guyana and doing something to combat it, Pastor Persaud told me:

… it’s 29.5% per 100,000. If we bring it to 20% per 100,000 it would be close to the global averages. I am a minister and the easy thing would have been to come and preach and leave, but I decided to do something more lasting.

Indeed the event was one capable of leaving a lasting impact.


Some of the groundwork

Leading up to the event, Pastor Persaud solicited the help of 300 prayer warriors from around the world. He referred to them as Gideon’s 300. This number comprised people from Guyana, around the world, and Liberty Church where Pastor Joe Persaud pastors. Their job was to pray that the event achieve its purpose. In Guyana, a weekly program hosted by Kester Deane was held on NCN channel 11 and his panel included various persons that were capable of giving advice regarding the social issues highlighted. Churches and non-governmental organizations were invited to register to assist with the execution of the event. Moreover, Pastor Persaud tried to get the church to assist in reducing suicide to normalcy within a year and pastors to use their influence to bring hope to the country.


Persons who ministered
 
Persons that ministered at the Hope is Rising event included Anil Azeez, Atta Boafo, Emran Henry Samuel Medas, Pastor Sean Sobers, Miriam Williams, Minister E-Praise, Dominion Dancers, Psalmist Eion Greaves, Kester D, MK out of the USA, and the New Life Drama Team. Pastor Persaud was the host pastor while Kester Deane was the national promoter of the event.


 
Pastor Persaud is thankful to God and grateful for everyone who supported the initiative in Guyana.

A picture of the crowd at Jubilee Park on June 3, 2017 courtesy of Pastor Joseph Persaud:

 




Following the event
 
The outside world has taken note of this epic event. On June 6, 2017 Pastor Persaud was on live radio in Antigua (91.1 fm) suggesting ways in which they could curb the problem there. He informed me that in addition to Antigua, “... Trinidad, St. Lucia, Haiti, Jamaica, India, and Nigeria seems interested in the Hope is Rising concept.”



More about the pioneering Pastor Joseph Persaud

Pastor Persaud’s Biography
Pastor Joe Persaud lives in New York with his wife and three boys and Pastors a church (Liberty Bible Fellowship Church www.libertychurchny.org ) in New York City. Along with that he is an executive at an Insurance Company (large collaborator with Uber) in New York and also runs a charitable organization called The Philia Foundation (www.loveguyana.com). He has travelled all over the world and spoken at various conferences along with doing poverty reduction projects globally.

Some of those projects involve micro finance initiatives where poor persons are given loans to create a business, and hence create profits and find themselves out of poverty. Instead of a handout it is a hand up, and instead of giving a fish it is teaching a person to fish. Some of these projects have been done in Nigeria, Haiti, and India. Some of the other projects include awareness campaigns, to bring attention to certain social issues such as domestic violence and country violence, along with  digging wells to serve over 2000 persons each day in poor villages, and providing alternative means for lights from solar lamps instead of usage of kerosene lamps that are a health hazard and expensive to maintain.

Pastor Joe Persaud is now focused on assisting Guyana in reducing social and economic ills; suicide, violence, domestic abuse, and joblessness. He is working with churches in Guyana to nudge them to bring their assistance to these issues. He believes a shift is taking place and pushing the systems already in place will move it faster and more efficiently. This along with the collaboration of churches and its young people working on these issues will bode well for the country, and will allow its citizens to enjoy their lives and purpose on earth.
He has a Theological Certification and is an ordained Elder/Pastor and he has a Bachelors in Constitutional Law from New York along with two Masters Degrees (International Affairs and Sustainability Management) from the New School University and Columbia University in New York.


Pastor Persaud’s CV
Joseph Michael Persaud

Pastor Liberty Fellowship Ministries Global
Ozone Park, NYC
·        Pastor for over 30 years and is one of the longest serving Father/Son Pastoral teams in the USA
·       Global ministry that connects many globally for reaching those who need Christ, speak hope into their lives, and maximize their purpose for living.
·         Reach thousands weekly via social media and hundreds live at church in NYC.

CEO of The Philia Foundation, New York, New York
  • A foundation to reduce poverty with awareness campaigns and projects around the world to increase employment (using microfinance and education) reduce violence, and produce energy via sustainability.
  • Usage of Solar systems in Haiti- instead of kerosene lamps create alternative for better health and safety and economic viability via solar lamps.
  • Coordinate various micro-finance projects in Nigeria, India and Haiti, and conferences to bring awareness of microfinance and other poverty reducing means.
  • Create awareness programs to reduce poverty and violence and work through churches to use their reach and influence to impact society for the good of the society.
  • Work with church conferences to influence church leaders and Pastors to become involved in social issues that impact people’s lives.

Present-Director – American Transit Insurance Company NYC Since 1986

American Transit Insurance Company-Named among the largest commercial (writing over $325 million yearly) auto insurers in the State of New York and the largest Insurer of UBER in NYC. They have become a specialist in healthcare insurance in the automobile sector in NYC and has testified before the Senate Committee in New York in regards to overhauling the system, and stream-lining it to make it better for the public and avoid the pitfalls of fraud in the marketplace.

Education:
Columbia University, New York, USA
Spring 2013- MSc. in Sustainability Management

New School University, New York, USA
2003-2006- MSc. in International Affairs
  • The world’s economies including developing and advanced countries.
  • Studied and wrote about micro-finance during this period.
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, USA
1986-1990- Bsc.-Legal Studies- Constitutional law

            Notable achievements:
1-Represented the Insurance Industry in 2009 before the New York Superintendent of Insurance on major regulatory changes that involved millions in savings to the auto insurance industry in New York State.
2-Creating and executing the American Transit Insurance Company’s Sustainability     Initiative that focus on Sustainability components in its corporate deliberations.
3-Appeared and give expert testimony on No-Fault Healthcare issues before the New York Senate Standing Committee on Insurance Reform in New State in February 2010 and May 2011. He recommended the overhaul of fee-schedule, medical supply billing, and change in statute of limitations for only No-Fault issues. Both testimonies can be found via the Senate hearing archives.
6- Spoke in various conferences in Haiti, India and Nigeria in collaboration with leadership and development issues, including poverty reduction, micro-insurance, and micro-finance in collaboration with the Philia Foundation’s developed poverty reduction programs in each of these countries, and he is about to embark on a new program to provide solar lamps in Haiti.
  

For more information on the epic Hope is Rising event/initiative, pictures, and performances, click on the following links:

Guyana Times newspaper article

Launch of the Hope is Rising song

Hope is Rising Face Book page

Pastor Persaud’s Face Book page

Love for Guyana article posted on Thursday, 25 May, 2017
http://loveforguyana.blogspot.com/2017/05/upcoming-events-hope-is-rising-anti.html





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