Operation-Give-a-Pair-of-Pants
(GAPP)
Suriname is a developing country located in
South America. Many children are in need for basic
necessities, including jeans for school uniforms.
Participate in Operation Give-a-Pair-of-Pants (GaPP)
and make a positive difference in the lives of needy
children in Suriname.
Donate a pair of new or used jeans for students ages
6 - 18 and support a successful school year for these
children.
Monetary donations and gift cards for the purchase
of jeans are also appreciated.
YEEPI Foundation Inc.
P.O. Box 24013 Evergreen RPO
Calgary, AB T2Y 4J9
Tel: 403.313.7234
Email: operationgapp@YEEPIFoundation.com
Web: www.YEEPIFoundation.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/YEEPIFoundationInc
YEEPI Foundation was incorporated on December 17, 2010. Corporate access number
5015808057.
Please go to our website and subscribe to our Quarterly Newsletter.
Foundation Inc.
HISTORY
Suriname, formerly Dutch Guyana, is located on
the Caribbean coast of South America, between
Guyana, French Guyana, Brazil and the Atlantic
Ocean. Suriname is covered by large areas of
biological diverse, tropical forest with some areas
of savanna. Suriname has a small population
of about 400,000 people. The official language
is Dutch, but many other languages are also
spoken. Most Surinamese, about 85 per cent,
live in the coastal area, and almost all of them in
Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname. The forest
is occupied by Maroons and Amerindians who
live scattered along its major rivers. The northern
coastal plain is farmed, mined and logged, and
the area along most rivers is heavily used for
subsistence agriculture in the interior.
For over 2 centuries Suriname was colonized
by the Netherlands. Although Holland forced
independence upon Suriname in 1975, the bond
between Suriname and the Netherlands remains
strong. As a result, The Netherlands, rather than
any neighboring country, is still Suriname’s
largest trading partner. Suriname is dependent
upon mining and foreign aid for foreign exchange.
About 400,000 people of Surinamese descent
live in the Netherlands. These people informally
contribute a large proportion of Suriname’s
foreign exchange every year, and their wealth,
knowledge and connections are a valuable
resource for Suriname.
THE MAROONS
The Maroons are the descendants of runaway
slaves brought as plantation laborers from
Africa to Suriname, starting in the last half
of the seventeenth century. The ancestors of
the major Maroon tribes escaped from the
plantations of coastal Suriname to the forests
of the interior in the late seventeenth and early
eighteenth centuries. There they developed
distinctive societies reflecting a blending and
adaptation to local conditions of various African
sociocultural patterns, and incorporating strong
Amerindian influences in their material culture
-- e.g. horticultural practices, hunting and fishing
techniques, crafts such as basketry, the use of
therapeutic plants, and so forth.
After a half century of guerrilla warfare against
colonial and European troops, the Maroons
signed treaties with the Dutch colonial
government in the 1760s, enabling them to live
a virtually independent existence until the past
few decades. For the most part, they live along
the rivers of the interior of Suriname. However,
growing numbers are now living in and around
Paramaribo, and they also expanded eastward
into adjacent French Guiana.
The Maroons could be divided into two main
groups on the basis of cultural and linguistic
differences, as well as location: (1) the Eastern
Tribes, consisting of the Ndyuka, the Aluku,
the Boni, and the Paamaka; and (2) the Central
Tribes, consisting of the Saamaka, the Matawai,
and the Kwinti. The Ndyuka and Saamaka are the
largest tribes.
Aside from Dutch, three main creole languages
are spoken in Suriname: (1) Sranan (Sranan
Tongo, Taki-Taki), which was once the language
of the plantation slaves and is now the “national
language” of Suriname, spoken throughout the
country as a lingua franca; (2) Ndyuka, spoken
by the Ndyuka, Aluku, and Paamaka; and (3)
Saamaka, spoken by the Saamaka and Matawai.
OPERATION GIVE-A-PAIR-OF-PANTS
In 2009, before it was incorporated, YEEPI
carried out a very successful Operation Givea-Bag (GaB), which provided students in three
Maroon villages backpacks and school supplies.
Additionally, YEEPI supplied children in the
Pediatric section of s‘Lands Hospital and two
daycares in Suriname with pyjamas, shoes and
toys. Following on this success, in 2011, YEEPI
is implementing Operation Give-a-Pair-of-Pants
(GaPP), which is an extension of Operation GaB.
The purpose of this project is to provide students
in the poor areas in Suriname with jeans and
other necessities. Jeans are part of the school
uniform in Suriname and are usually a significant
burden on the parent’s annual budget.