10 students benefit from Patron educational programme as BCB hosts 2nd social skills seminar

The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday hosted the second of four social skills seminars for youths in the county. The seminar was held at the Fort Wellington Secondary School and attended by 35 youths drawn from clubs in the West Berbice area.
The event was organised under the Board’s Patron Trust Fund, with the first one being held in New Amsterdam last weekend. Over the next two weeks, a total of 80 youths in Upper and Lower Corentyne will benefit.
BCB President Hilbert Foster, who was present for the entire six hours of the seminar, urged the attentive youths to take full advantage of the opportunities being presented to them by his Board as they were investments in their future. Youths in West Berbice, he noted, are given the same opportunities as their counterparts in the other sub-associations and they must work hard to improve themselves.

One of the basic problems in the county the Board had observed, Foster stated, was the lack of basic social skills among players who go on to play for the county or Guyana.
The idea for the seminars was conceived by Foster and Board Patron, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat during one of their regular meetings on the development of Berbice cricket. The seminar was conducted by four graduates of the Tain Campus of the University of Guyana – Seeta Dallo, Marissa Foster, Denica Henry and Junior Blair, alongside veteran sports administrator Levi Nedd.
Among the topics covered on Saturday were life skills, leadership, basic mannerisms, conflict resolution, table etiquette, balancing of sports and education, and public speaking among others. Foster also spoke of the benefits of being a professional cricketer and the expectations of the BCB for the next set of county cricketers.

He cautioned them to not only focus on their cricket but also on their education as only a few of them would go on to play professionally and as such, having an educational background was very important. He pledged that the BCB would always be a friend of youths and would continue to invest in their future.
West Berbice Cricket Association (WBCA) President David Black expressed thanks to Foster for his commitment to the overall development of cricket in West Berbice, and urged the youths to go back to their clubs to share their new knowledge with their peers. Each of the participants of the seminar was presented with a Certificate of Participation from the BCB.
Ten of the youths also benefited from an educational grant of $10,000 each from the BCB under its Patron Educational Trust Fund. The funds would be used to purchase much-needed educational materials from Metro Office Supplies. Under the programme, a total of 40 youths would benefit from grants during the month of November. The youths were also involved in a one-day cricket academy on Sunday at the Cotton Tree Ground under the watchful eyes of a battery of coaches including Leslie Solomon and Travis Harcourt.