LIONS CLUBS OF SURINAME

Suriname (or Surinam), officially known as the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America. It is bordered by French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, making it one of two countries, French Guiana the other, not to border any of the Spanish-speaking countries on the continent. Suriname was colonised by the English and the Dutch in the 17th century.

In 1667 it was captured by the Dutch, who governed Suriname as Dutch Guiana until 1954. At that time it was designated as one of the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, next to the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles (dissolved in 2010). On 25 November 1975, the country of Suriname left the Kingdom of the Netherlands to become independent. A member of CARICOM, it is frequently considered a Caribbean country and has had frequent trade and cultural exchange with the Caribbean nations.

At just under 165,000 km² (64,000 sq mi), Suriname is the smallest sovereign state in South America. (French Guiana, while less extensive and populous, is an overseas department of France.) Suriname has a population of approximately 566,000 most of whom live on the country's north coast, where the capital Paramaribo is located. The official language is Dutch. It is the only independent entity in the Americas where Dutch is spoken.

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LIONS CLUBS OF GUYANA

Officially known as the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Guyana is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America. Modern Guyana is bordered by Suriname to the east; by Brazil to the south and southwest; by Venezuela to the west; and by the Atlantic Ocean to the north. At 215,000 square kilometres (83,000 sq mi), with a population of approximately 770,000, Guyana is the third-smallest independent state on the mainland of South America after Uruguay and Suriname.

Guyana is part of the Anglophone Caribbean and is one of the few Caribbean countries that is not an island. It is  also the only South American nation whose official language is English.  The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which Guyana is a member, has its secretariat's headquarters in Guyana's capital, Georgetown.

Guyana was originally colonized by the Netherlands. Later, it became a British colony and remained so for over 200 years until it achieved independence on 26 May 1966 from the United Kingdom. On 23 February 1970, Guyana officially became a republic. In 2008, the country joined the Union of South American Nations as a founding member.

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LIONS CLUBS OF TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 

Trinidad and Tobago is a twin-island country. The two islands are the southernmost in the Caribbean with the island of Trinidad lying just 11 km (6.8 mi) off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of 5,128 km² (1,980 sq mi) it is also the fifth largest in the West Indies.

Many believe the original name for the island in the Arawaks' language was "Iëre" which meant "Land of the Humming Bird". Some believe that "Iere" was actually a mispronunciation/corruption by early colonists of the Arawak word "Kairi" which simply means "Island". Christopher Columbus renamed it "La Isla de la Trinidad" ("The Island of the Trinity"), fulfilling a vow he had made before setting out on his third voyage of exploration.

Caribs and Arawaks lived in Trinidad long before Columbus encountered the islands on his third voyage in 1498. Tobago changed hands between the British, French, Dutch and Courlanders, but eventually ended up in British hands. Trinidad remained Spanish until 1797, but it was largely settled by French colonists from Martinique. In 1889 the two islands became a single crown colony. Trinidad and Tobago obtained independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976. 

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