THE Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC) launched its 20th anniversary celebration last Sunday with a moving church service which was held at its Area ‘H’ ground head office. The church service was attended by the club’s management, members and special invitees and kicked off two months of projects and programmes to mark the historic achievement of Guyana’s leading youth and sports organisation. 
Assistant Secretary/CEO Franklyn Ross, who chaired the programme, hailed the 20th anniversary of the club as a historic moment and one that the RHTY&SC would celebrate with projects that would make a difference in the lives of youths, the elderly and less fortunate.
He called on club members to rededicate themselves to working harder in the future to enable the club to remain the best in Guyana and, most importantly, to making a positive difference in the society.
Pastor Kevin Perreira of the Changing Your Life Ministries of Williamsburg, in giving the sermon at the service, stated that the RHTY&SC was successful over the last twenty years because it places strong emphasis on religion and all its activities are based on touching and changing the lives of others.
Perreira, who is himself a product of the RHTY&SC, challenged the management and members of the club to continue putting God into their plans and to always strive for excellence, while he congratulated the club for a positive difference in the lives of thousands and for changing the landscape for youths in Rose Hall Town.
Secretary/CEO of the club Hilbert Foster gave a brief history of the club and traced its development over the last 20 years.
Stating that the RHTY&SC was formed in 1990 by himself and several others, he informed the gathering that the club in the beginning had no funds, no gear, no office and lost its first 17 cricket matches.
Twenty years later and thanks to hard work, discipline, visionary leadership, honesty, forward planning and the support of donors and sponsors, the RHTY&SC has won the national cricket title twice, named GCB Club-of-the-Year thrice and has produced dozens of cricketers for Guyana and Berbice.
The RHTY&SC on an annual basis is the host of over 150 programmes under several sub-headings of sports, culture, education, charity, community development, award ceremonies, religious, economic development, anti-drugs, social and gender relationships.
Foster hailed the work of the club as unbelievable and stated that it is unmatched in Guyana.
The long-serving secretary/CEO, however, told his club members that all the achievements are in the past and urged them to make the next twenty years more productive as the club strives to make God’s world a better place.
At the end of the religious service, the oldest member of the club, Isabella Smartt (68 years) and the youngest member Veramootoo Senwasane (10 years) cut the anniversary cake before sharing it to the invitees.
The club also unveiled the activities of the 20th anniversary celebrations that would last until the end of October.