FIFTY youths mainly from Georgetown are to benefit from a three-day programme organised by the Pele Football Club’s Alumni (United States)beginning at 09:00hrs tomorrow at the Carifesta Sports Complex, Carifesta Avenue.
The programme which concludes on Thursday will see 50 youths benefitting from educational and health lectures as well as dental check-ups, compliments of the Ministry of Education and the Public Health Ministry.They will also be taken on guided tours of the Eugiene Correia International Airport and Banks DIH Limited on Wednesday.
Former Chief Education Officer of the Ministry of Education,Ed Caesar,will deliver the feature address at tomorrow’s opening ceremony and give the charge to the participants.
The closing ceremony is on Thursday at 12:00 noon and will be in the form of a luncheon.Each participant will be the recipient of a backpack filled with school supplies for the new school term.
The luncheon will be handled by the Carnige School of Home Economics, while transportation for the field tours comes compliments of Knightriders Bus Service.
After the feature address by Caesar, the participants will have the opportunity to listen to several presenters from the education and health ministries.
According to treasurer of the Pele Alumni (USA) and former national footballer Patrick `Labba’ Barton, the Pele Alumni has been distributing 50 backpacks annually to Guyana’s youths, especially those who are persuing an academic and sports career and this will continue to happen “for many, many years to come”.
Chairman of the Pele Alumni (USA) Dennis Carrington, said members of the Alumni during their youthful days in Guyana were not privileged to certain things in their educational endeavours and because of the opportunities that were afforded to them to become lawyers, doctors and successful business persons that they now are, they thought it would be a good idea to give back to their roots, hence, since 2012, they have been sending home finance through the Ministry of Education to assist those youths that show the potential for sports scholarships.
The financial assistance,Carrington said, is used to purchase school book, supplies and uniforms. This he said will continue indefinitely.