“Everyone in this club works very hard to make a positive difference as we strongly believe in the work we do. We set ourselves a target of 700 activities/programmes for 2018 and every day we worked hard to fulfill it. It was very difficult due to our Secretary/CEO’s full time commitment to Berbice Cricket, but the rest of our management stepped in to pick up the mantle.”
Those were the words of Assistant Secretary/CEO of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, 19-year-old Simon Naidu, as he described 2018 as the best ever in the 28-year history of the club, widely described as Guyana’s most dynamic youth and sports club.
The club, apart from totally dominating cricket in the Ancient County, completed 718 activities under a wide range of sub-headings that included sports, education, charity, cricket development, community development, anti-crime, anti-alcohol, anti-suicide, Christmas outreach, religious, Dare to Dream, social, medical, coaching and anti-tobacco.
On the cricket field, the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club won the following major cricket tournaments: Ramnaresh Sarwan Under-17, New York Business Group Under-19, Patron’s Cup First Division, SKYY Vodka 20/20 First Division, Pepsi First Division 50-over, Busta Champion of Champions 40-over, Brian Ramphal Double Wicket First Division, Naeem Nasir Memorial, Rhonda Lewis Memorial 20/20, Raffik Construction 100 Balls, Nand Persaud Females, Magic Moments 20/20 and Roy Fredericks Memorial Cup.
The club was also runner-up of the Mike’s Pharmacy Under-15, Elizabeth Styles Under-21 and Da Silva Under-13.
Sixteen of the club’s members went on to play Regional Cricket in 2018 and they were Jonathan Rampersaud, Mahendra Gopilall, Jeremy Sandia, Kevlon Anderson, Junior Sinclair, Kevin Sinclair, Clinton Pestano, Assad Fudadin, Shabiki Gajnabi, Rushanna Lynch, Sheneeta Grimmond, Uma Matadin, Shemaine Campbelle, Erva Giddings, Melanie Henry and Plaffiana Millington.
Several others like Matthew Pottaya, Keith Simpson, Marian Samaroo, Dian Prahalad, Sherica Campbelle, Chanderpaul Govindan, Kimmone Thomas and Kassie Munroe all played for Berbice at the Inter-county level.
Off the field, the club hosted Guyana’s largest Cricket Academy with over 100 hundred youths and its annual award ceremony for its members, with over three million dollars being expended.
The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club also single-handedly raised over $10 million in cash and kind for the Berbice Cricket Board, used two million dollars of its own funds to assist its Secretary to fulfill his duties as President of the Berbice Cricket Board and donated over three million dollars worth of cricket gear, cricket balls, stumps and scorebooks in a joint effort with the Berbice Board.
Over 20 promising young cricketers also benefitted from cricket bats from the club’s Patron Fund, while Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club members also carried home close to one million dollars worth of gear as part of the club’s comprehensive cricket programme to clubs, churches, schools and NGOs. They also received one million dollars worth of trophies, medals and special prizes.
The club also co-hosted the Patron’s Cup, GBTI Inter-Secondary School, Busta Champion of Champions and Naeem Nasir Memorial Cricket Tournaments with the Berbice Cricket Board.
Other major programmes/activities done in 2018 included Republic Bank Educational Camp, Monthly Pensioners Project, Scotiabank Mash Parade, Scotiabank Tribute to Outstanding Teachers, Grade Six Top Ten Award, Tribute to Law Enforcement Officers, Tribute to Retired Teachers, Medical Clinics, Annual Youth Review Magazine, Say No to Drugs Posters, DTV-8 Mother of the Year, Walter Nero Memorial Father’s Day Programme, Say No to Crime Stickers, $1M School bags project, Ansa McAl Award of Excellence, Gregory Gaskin Memorial Berbice Sports Awards, Dolphin Awards, Feeding of the Poor, Debating Competition, Spelling Bee and Educational Scholarship.
Naidu, who despite his tender age, has taken over the daily operation of the club, stated that two of the most cherished programmes were the hosting of the third edition of the Patron’s Fund and the 28th annual Christmas Programme.
Under the Patron’s Fund in honour of President David Granger 73rd birthday, the club shared out millions of dollars worth of cricket bats, bicycles, exercise books, school bags and educational materials, while the Christmas programme included the distribution of 4,000 toys, 300 food hampers, educational materials, wheel chairs, clocks, personal care products, clothing and sport gear to children, churches, NGOs, less fortunate families and the elderly.
The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club’s fourth annual Christmas Village, which was a $1.5 million investment, was also visited by close to 8,000 persons. The club also assisted over 80 sports events in Berbice and across Guyana for cycling, softball, dominoes, female football, football academy, chess, table tennis, basketball and volleyball.
Naidu disclosed that the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club has no major new plans for 2019, but would continue to focus on making positive differences in the lives of others and continuing its dominance on the cricket field.
The Assistant Secretary/CEO also expressed gratitude to the club’s Patron, His Excellency President David Granger, its numerous sponsors and donors, the media, the Rose Hall Town Council, the Government of Guyana, Region Six RDC, the Guyana Police Force and all those who assisted its efforts and programmes in 2018.
