A donation from Tropical Shipping to the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD) will see the establishment of two blind cricket nurseries, along with the procurement of blind-cricket gear.

The donation, according to National and West Indies blind cricketer and GCOPD Programme Coordinator, Ganesh Singh, will also be used to further the development of blind cricket in Regions Four and 10.

GCOPD, in partnership with the Guyana Blind Cricket Association (GBCA), will expose children and adults, who are blind and visually-impaired, to the fundamentals of blind cricket through the nurseries and other blind-cricket development activities.
According to Singh, the donation is timely. He highlighted the importance of sports in the rehabilitation and empowerment of persons with disabilities, and further outlined the impact of cricket on the lives of persons who are blind and visually-impaired since the sport was introduced to Guyana in November 2005.

Singh, who is a current national and West Indies blind cricketer, articulated the impact blind cricket had on his life after he lost his sight as a teenager and was at home, depressed. He said blind cricket was the vehicle of his rehabilitation, reintegration into society and acquisition of confidence as a blind person.

Meanwhile, also speaking at the presentation ceremony was Country Manager of Tropical Shipping, Glenis Hodge, who said the company was happy to play a role in helping to provide opportunities for persons with vision disabilities to be involved in sports.
Among the items to be purchased are blind-cricket balls, cricket bats, batting gloves, wicket keeping gloves, gears and equipment bags, among other gear and equipment for the playing of blind cricket.

Tropical Shipping is a shipping and logistics company that has over 50 years’ experience in the business arena. They have weekly seven-day transit sailing from Florida to Guyana and provide Guyana with complete shipping services to and from Canada and across the Caribbean.