After nearly two years of waiting for official approval, Suriname’s Sanatan Dharm religious organization has become the first recipient of land allocation documents from the national government, unlocking the green light for a slate of impact-focused community development projects. The formal handover ceremony took place Tuesday at the Cabinet of the President, where Suriname President Jennifer Simons presented the official land papers to representatives from the organization.
Sanatan Dharm board chair Sherwankoemar Ramsoedit described the long-awaited approval as a transformative breakthrough for the group, which had seen all planned development work stalled for months without the official land disposition. “In one word: wonderful. It could not have gone any better,” Ramsoedit shared in a statement via Suriname’s Communication Service (CDS).
The organization has outlined a multi-faceted community service plan for the newly allocated land, including a full vocational training institute, a senior citizen care shelter, and an outpatient polyclinic that will provide routine health screenings and blood testing services for local residents. These facilities are designed to form the core of a broader public welfare initiative that will serve vulnerable communities across the region.
Ramsoedit emphasized that the approval process had stretched on for between 18 and 24 months, and the absence of official land documentation left the organization unable to move forward with any concrete construction or planning work. On behalf of the Sanatan Dharm board, he extended his gratitude to President Simons and Hanisha Jairam, whom he credited with playing a critical role in facilitating negotiations and moving the application process forward.
Moving forward, the organization’s leadership will turn its full attention to detailed project planning and the next stages of development. Per Ramsoedit, President Simons has committed that the national government will continue coordinating with relevant ministries and regulatory bodies to support the organization in completing the remaining procedural steps for the project, ensuring the community services can open their doors to residents as soon as possible. This land allocation launch marks the start of a national government program to distribute land disposition approvals to religious groups across the country for public projects including shelters, orphanages, and cemeteries.