2nd edition Youth Enhancement 10/10 Cricket set for today

By Andrew Carmichael

The second edition of the Youth Enhancement 10/10 Cricket tournament is set for staging today at the Number 56 Village Community Centre Ground on the Corentyne Coast in East Berbice.

The eight teams set to compete in this tournament, the first edition of which was staged in May, are: Guyana Police Force, ‘B’ Division, Unstoppable, Grill Master X1, Number 57 Village, Number 71 Village, Number 53-Union, Number 59 Village and Number 55 Village.
Tournament Organiser Gobin Harbhajan, the Prime Minister’s Region 6 Representative, has said the idea is not just to play a cricket match, but to support youth enhancement in the community. He said that, moving around, he has heard of a number of young people committing suicide, and has encountered a number of them with idle time, who get themselves involved in alcohol drinking and using illegal drugs.
“Making a start and taking the lead will help the youths to use their spare time to do something constructive,” Harbhajan said. “My objective, as the PM’s Regional Rep. and RDC Counsellor, is to do something about the situation, because too many youths and adults have idle time, and we have so many abandoned playgrounds all over. So I want to invest my time into the Number 56 Village Community Ground as a start.”
He said that since the competition was first staged in May, several villagers have been asking for a repeat, and the business community has contacted him to indicate their interest in supporting similar initiatives.
“They have been encouraging me to continue with my drive, and they are willing to sponsor trophies and so on, to ensure that the idea grows and becomes successful,” Harbhajan revealed.
The sponsors of this initiative include Gobin Harbhajan and family (USA), D. Shaw and family, and Chino and Daughter Supermarket, among others.
“We have many NGOs in Guyana that just sit back, waiting for something to happen. With the high suicide rate and prevalence of illegal drugs, I believe my ides will make a huge impact in ensuring that youths make wise use of their spare time,” Harbhajan has said.
Admission to Sunday’s event, which will be played on a knockout basis, is free. The first game is expected to bowl off at 10:00h.