AFTER more than a decade without a Sports Officer in Region Two, the Ministry of Education Department of Culture, Youth and Sport has employed Herald Aldes in the position and his first aim is to regularise sports in the region.

According to Aldes, there is dire need for sports in the area to be organised into regulated groups, which will enable the athletes and organisations to participate in events – a lack that is currently affecting the progress of sports in the area.
“We need to have a working group so that the youths can participate in regional matches, since the National Sports Commission does not allow unregulated groups to play in the organised games,” Aldes explained, in an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA).

Aldes is already looking at putting on activities that will help the development of sports in the region. Through the collaboration with several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) a sports day is scheduled for March 12, to be held in observance of International Women’s Day.
Aldes is also looking towards the establishment of a database which will help to keep track of talented athletes in the various sport disciplines.
Moreover, a youth forum in April is also on the cards. At the youth forum there will be a particular focus on mental health and ways of reducing the suicide rate that has plagued that region.

Regional Executive Officer (REO) Rupert Hopkinson is particularly pleased with the initiative to invest in the resuscitation of sports in the region.
“It is hoped therefore that the public will make full use of the sports department and engage in collaborative ventures that can benefit clubs, communities and the region as a whole,” Hopkinson told GINA.

Region Two’s Information Development Officer Elroy Stephney stated that the youth officer assigned to the region continues to aid several villages including the hinterland areas through youth camps and training in educational disciplines, according to the GINA report. Projects organised by the President’s Youth Award Republic of Guyana (PYARG) are included.
Stephney noted that the youth officer has also undertaken to form youth groups in several communities so that “they will flourish and maintain their cultures, and showcase their talent in different fields.

“The initiative will also serve to provide exposure to young people attached to the groups to develop into leaders,” Stephney added.