The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), Guyana’s most active cricket organization, at the weekend continued to invest heavily into the educational career of junior players in the Ancient County.
The board, since the election of Hilbert Foster as President in 2018, has placed special emphasis on the promotion of education among its junior players and hundreds have received assistance to stay in school and complete their educational career.
The board, during the hosting of a social skills development seminar for youths in the New Amsterdam/Canje area, handed over seven educational grant under its 2021 Patron Educational Trust Fund.
The fund is supported by Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat, who is the Honorary Patron of the BCB.
The seven players who shared the combined grant of one hundred thousand dollars were Aaron Craig, Ronaldo Gomes, Anthony Persaud, Dinesh Persaud, Aaron Seitaram, Shaquan Whyte and Daniel Victor.
BCB President Hilbert Foster stated that he strongly believes that education is the key to a successful life and as such the board has invested heavily in the promotion of education among youths playing the game of cricket since 2018.
He disclosed that since then hundreds of youth cricketers have received assistance in form of grants, educational materials, uniforms, cycles and school bags among others.
The BCB also created history when it became the first cricket board in Guyana to hand out an educational scholarship to the University of Guyana.
Foster, who is also a Vice-President of the Guyana Cricket Board and a Director of Cricket West Indies, shared that close to 30 Under-17 players would benefit under the Patron Fund during the month of November.
The players would each receive a voucher that would allow them to uplift educational materials from Metro Office Supplies.
Speaking on the reason for the BCB investing so heavily into education, Foster stated that an educated mind makes better all-round cricketers and also avoids major embarrassment on the international stage.
He reminded the youths that no can take away what they learn and most importantly, an educated mind allows one to think faster on the feet in a crisis.
He hailed the outstanding work of Minister Bharrat in his capacity of Board Patron and expressed thanks to him for funding the educational grant programme.
The Minister of Natural resources in a well-received feature address spoke broadly on the importance of education and personal discipline.
He shared that he was very impressed by the outstanding work of the BCB and he was fully committed to making sure that the county of Berbice produce cricketers who would excel on and off the cricket field.
The Minister also handed over two cheques valued $1.1 million to BCB Treasurer Dr. Cecil Beharry for the Patron Fund.
The funds would be used to provide the educational grants across the county and to also hosts four social skills developmental seminars in the four sub-associations in Berbice.
The Minister has also committed another million dollars to the fund for 2021, which would be used to assist the county’s 11 first division clubs with cricket balls for the packed upcoming season.
