13 Championships, 718 activities complete a successful 2018 for RHTY&SC

“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 fulfil it. It was very difficult due to our Secretary/CEO full-time commitment to Berbice Cricket, but the rest of our management stepped in to pick up the mantle.”
Those were the words of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club (RHTY&SC) Assistant Secretary/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), 19-year-old Simon Naidu as he described 2018 as the best year ever in the 28-year history of the Club, widely

described as Guyana’s most dynamic youth and sports club.
Apart from totally dominating cricket in the Ancient County on the field, the Club also 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, a Christmas outreach, religious activities, Dare to Dream, social, medical, coaching and anti-tobacco programmes.
On the cricket field, the RHTY&SC 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 were also the runners-up in the Mike’s Pharmacy Under-15, Elizabeth Styles Under-21, and Da Silva Under-13 tourneys. Sixteen of the Club’s members went on to play regional cricket in 2018: 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 a hundred youths and a $3 million award ceremony for its members. The RHTY&SC also single-handedly raised over $10 million in cash and kind for the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB); used $2 million of its own funds to assist its Secretary to fulfil his duties as President of the Board and donated over $3 million worth of cricket gear, including balls, stumps, and scorebooks in a joint effort with the Berbice Board. More than 20 promising young cricketers benefited from cricket bats from the Club’s Patron Fund while Club members also carried home close to $1 million worth of gear as part of the Club’s comprehensive cricket programme for clubs, churches, schools and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that also received $1 million in trophies, medals and special prizes. The Club co-hosted the Patron’s Cup, GBTI Inter-Secondary School, Busta Champion of Champions and Naeem Nasir Memorial Cricket Tournaments with the BCB.
Other major programmes/activities done in 2018 include 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, $1 million school bags project, ANSA McAL Award of Excellence, Gregory Gaskin Memorial Berbice Sports Awards, Dolphin Awards, feeding of the poor, the debating competition, spelling bee and educational scholarships.
Naidu, who, despite his tender age, has taken over the daily operations of the Club, stated that two of the most cherished programmes were the Patron’s Fund (third edition) and the 28th Annual Christmas Programme. Under the Patron’s Fund in honour of President David Granger 73rd birthday, the Club distributed millions of dollars worth of cricket bats, bicycles, exercise books, school bags and educational materials, while the Christmas programme included the distribution of 4000 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 Club’s fourth annual Christmas Village, which was a $1.5 million investment, was visited by close to 8000 youths. The Club also assisted approximately 80 sport events in Berbice and across Guyana in the cycling, softball, dominoes, football, chess, table tennis, basketball and volleyball disciplines.
Naidu disclosed that the RHTY&SC have no major new plans for 2019, but will 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, President Granger; its numerous sponsors and donors; the media, the Rose Hall Town Council; the Government of Guyana; the Region Six Regional Democratic Council (RDC); the Guyana Police Force and all those who assisted during 2018.