SPORTS and youth development in the Ancient County of Berbice took a giant step last Friday when the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club (RHTYSC) in conjunction with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (CJCLDS) handed over $1.5 M worth of sports gear and equipment to promote sports as an avenue to keep youths off the road and away from drugs and crime.
A total of 50 cricket clubs, schools, government agencies, NGOs and churches received donations from the Club who over the last 15 years, has donated over $25M worth of sports and educational materials to youths in Berbice, and the Church.
Eighteen (18) cricket clubs which included West Berbice, Blairmont, Young Warriors, Port Mourant, Chesney, Police, Bermine, Rose Hall Canje, Edinburgh and Courtland, received $800 000 worth of cricket gear that included cricket balls, batting pads and gloves.
Thirty-two churches, NGOs, schools and government agencies received $700 000 worth of equipment for several sports including chess, basketball, volleyball, football, draught, dominoes, table tennis, softball cricket, checkers and circle tennis.
Among those receiving were the Guyana Police Force ‘B’ Division, Guyana Prison Service, Guyana Fire Service, New Amsterdam Catholic and Anglican Churches, All Saints Church, NCN Berbice Sports Club, Lower Corentyne Secondary School, J.C. Chandisingh Secondary School, Port Mourant Secondary School, Tutorial Academy, Belvedere Primary School, Rose Hall Town Primary, CCI Mission and the Corentyne Comprehensive Secondary School.
Secretary/CEO of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, Hilbert Foster, in delivering the feature address at the handing-over ceremony, stated that the presentation was the third of its kind since 2008 with sponsorship from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and that a total of $3.5M worth of gear had been shared out during that period.
The long-standing Secretary/CEO who was named the National Sports Personality for the year 2009 noted, that the RHTYSC was the best club in Guyana and as part of its policy, wants every club and youth organisation to follow in its footsteps as the aim was to make sure that every youth in Guyana was involved in sports and used it an alternative to life on the road.
Foster stated that the Club would be celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2010 by hosting over 100 programmes and projects that would target sports, education, culture, charity, youth development, community development and religious development for youths.
He challenged the groups and schools receiving the donation to use the sports gear for their intended purposes and to work overtime to produce sports men and women who would not only excel on the field but would be positive role models for all youths in Berbice.
The RHTYSC chief executive officer  said that the time has come for Berbice to produce more outstanding table tennis, basketball, football and chess players to serve as role models and expressed profound gratitude to the leadership and members of the Latter Day Saints Church for sponsoring the programme and for their commitment towards youth development.
He explained that the Church which is the RHTYSC largest sponsor has touched and changed the lives of thousands of youths and expressed the hope that the relationship between the club and the Church would continue to grow in the future.
Elder Tenisingh, a Rosignol-based member of the Church who spoke on behalf of the Church, stated that his Church was committed to making positive differences in the lives of youths, the elderly and less fortunate.
The Elder explained that serving others was part of the Church’s teaching and all funds raised for the charity programmes will be donated by the membership.
He further stated that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was pleased to work along with RHTYSC as it was not only a role model organisation but one that produces results. He challenged the clubs and schools to use the donated gear properly and to care them.
Dhieranidranauth Somwaru of the Chesney Cricket Club thanked both donors for their gifts while noting that most of his club’s membership were from the less fortunate families and were unable to buy cricket equipment.
The balls donated to the Clubs will be used by the Under-15 and Under-19 teams in competitions organised by the Berbice Cricket Board and Senior Master of the Lower Corentyne Secondary School, Imran Ally, hailed the donation as a major boost for sports development in Berbice and praised the donors for reaching out and assisting the twelve schools.