… share out 500 hampers, assist family whose house fell

THE ten cricket teams of Guyana’s leading youth and sports club, Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC MS), in conjunction with the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), recently launched another project to make a positive difference in the lives of the less fortunate in Berbice.

Teams – Poonai Pharmacy Under-12, Under-13, Farfan & Mendes Under-15, Bakewell Under-17 and Second Division, Pepsi Under-19 and Intermediate Metro Females and NAMILCO Under-21 and First Division with the blessings of the family of the late Guyana and West Indies batting legend have launched the Basil Butcher Trust Project.

With the cooperation of the proactive BCB, the teams have to date shared out over 500 food hampers in the West Berbice, New Amsterdam, Canje, Lower Corentyne and Upper Corentyne and have assisted the family of Ms Roopranie Latchminarine of No. 67 Village, whose house collapsed during a recent storm.

Secretary/CEO of the RHTYSC and president of the BCB, Hilbert Foster, said the late Basil Butcher was a very close friend of the club and played a major role in the development of its cricket section and charity outreach programme.

The management sought and was granted permission by the Butcher Family to honour the memory of the veteran of 44 Test matches for the West Indies.

Butcher scored 3 104 runs at an average of 43.10 with seven centuries and 16 half-centuries. His highest Test score was a brilliant 209 not out versus England. He scored 11 628 runs at the first-class level with 31 centuries and 54 half-centuries at an amazing average of 49.90

After his retirement at the age of 36 in 1969, Butcher served Guyana and West Indies cricket as an administrator with great success.

The teams and BCB intend to assist dozens of less fortunate players with cricket gear such as batting gloves, batting pads and wicket-keeping gloves. Bicycles would also be given to less fortunate students in an effort to enable them to attend school regularly when it reopens after the corona virus pandemic.

RHTYSC, with the support of Blossom Butcher, has opened a Go Fund Me account in the United States to raise funds for the project.

Foster led an eight-man delegation to distribute the hampers and also handed over a special donation of food items, clothing, footwear, household and kitchen utilities to the Latchminarine family.

Foster committed the club and the board to assisting the family in the future and wished them well as they try to carry on with their lives after the family house fell during a storm.

He urged them to remain strong in their faith in God. The team also shared out food hampers in the No. 65 Squatting Area where dozens of families live in poor conditions.

RHTYSC and BCB over the last four months have shared out 21 000 pounds of chicken products, cleaning supplies and hundreds of face masks as part of the coronavirus response programme.

Foster has stated that as long as he remains head of both organisations they would be involved in activities to make a positive difference.

The cricket teams would like to express gratitude to all the donors to the effort including NAMILCO, Bounty Farm, Farfan and Mendes Ltd and Bakewell.