Sports in Shieldstown Village
Councillor Nowrang Damarlall and his pets (Carl Croker photos)
Councillor Nowrang Damarlall and his pets (Carl Croker photos)

By Michel Outridge

VISHAUL Raj is a resident of Shieldstown, West Bank Berbice and he is an avid cricket fan and cricketer, who established the Blairmont Cricket Club which has since been dismantled.

Vishaul Raj

He was a teacher at the Rosignol Secondary School but resigned in 2017 and has been out of a job for the past 19 months.
The qualified accountant is job seeking, but misses teaching which his true passion and presently he is self-employed and is also dependent on his elderly father to support him financially.

With the limited job offers in his ‘neck of the woods,’ Raj reported that he has shifted his focus on cricket and has revived the team.
Their latest competitive match was last weekend against Bath Village, West Coast Berbice.
He explained that their cricket club was the club of the year in 2018 and most of the youths in the community are cricketers in the under-15 team.
“Our youths are cricketers and six of them are presently playing for the under-15 team for Guyana, so we have some talented sportsmen here and some also are good football players too,” he said.

Raj related that Shieldstown is a good place to reside because life is peaceful and they have a lot of space.
“One thing is needed though, our ballfield is good, but when we have cricket we have to weed the ground ourselves and the building needs repairs and the washroom facilities also need some attention to make it fitting for visitors,” he said.

The Councillors

The home of Vishaul Raj

The Pepperpot Magazine also met Councillor Nowrang Damarlall who described the village as a small, quiet neighbourhood, which is heavily dependent on the nearby Blairmont Sugar Estate for their livelihoods.

He believes there can be more recreational activities for the youths, some of whom are engaged in unsavoury activities to pass the time in a meaningful way.
The former foreman at the Blairmont Sugar Estate reported that the schoolchildren are in dire need of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hub to access the internet for their school work.

Damarlall retired from the sugar estate in 2017 and is focusing on his farm and pets, he has six dogs.
“We also need street lights and well-paved roads, sometimes people does get robbed while walking in here, so if the place is illuminated we can see what’s going on,” he said.

Councillor Sieuraj

The Pepperpot Magazine encountered another resident, also a councillor, Sieuraj (only name) who is employed at the Blairmont Sugar Estate as a general labourer.
He is also a farmer who was busy clearing drains in his community when the Pepperpot Magazine visited.
Sieuraj reported that Shieldstown is a place of sportsmen who are good in both cricket and football, but their community centre-ground needs repairs since the place is being vandalised by drug users.

“We have a lot of talented people here, but it is a shame to see what some folk are doing to the community centre building and sad at the same time, because it is not used for its intended purpose,” he said.

The villager stated that the community also has many skilled people who are electricians, teachers, nurses and others.
Carl Croker photos saved in a folder in Graphics as Shieldstown.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp
All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.