Back in July, Kwakwani Secondary School made a clean sweep of the Boys’ and Girls’ Under-18 National Schools’ Basketball Festival (NSBF) titles, in addition to winning the Under-14 Boys’ competition.
Aside from the allotted prize monies for the school, the three basketball teams out of Region 10 were given another reward, being treated to dinner and a tour of Georgetown, ExxonMobil’s Kingston Head Office, and the National Museum, all compliments of ExxonMobil, the tournament’s title sponsor.
ExxonMobil’s Community Relations Advisor, Ryan Hoppie, during the tour of the company’s office, shared a little bit about the rationale behind the initiative.
“So earlier in the year, we started out with the Linden U18 football champions, and what we’re trying to do is ensure that outside of the tournament, the young people that are taking part in these initiatives, these competitions, have an experience that allows them to understand a little bit more about what we do as a company,” Hoppie explained.
He added, “The rationale behind it is really starting that conversation about what’s happening in the industry, our operations, and I would say opening doors, windows and a peek into what we do as a company. So that young people can dream, they can think beyond just sport, what are some of the things available to them, once they stay in school and they do well.”
Of course, Kwakwani Secondary are not the first to receive the royal treatment, with Waramuri Primary Top and Bartica Secondary, winners of the Girls’ and Boys’ U14 tournaments respectively, benefitting from a similar exercise one month prior.
