Foster urge cricketers to take education seriously

 …as BCB honours top CXC students

The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), under the leadership of its proactive President, Hilbert Foster, continues to break new ground even as most sporting organisations remain inactive because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The BCB last Thursday hosted a simple presentation ceremony for its inaugural Adana Homes’ Tribute to Outstanding Students Award programme, wherein six cricketers who performed well at the recent CSEC exams have each received a stipend of ten thousand dollars.
The recipient players, who were all present at the ceremony, are Jonathan Rampersaud, Mahendra Gopilall, Lucas Arthur, Anthony Sukhra, Abdul Ramsammy and Ashmini Munisar.
Foster disclosed that the BCB strongly believes in the importance of having an educational background, and has always invested heavily in assisting cricketers as much as possible in this regard.
Urging the players to remain humble, Foster encouraged them to develop a culture of always striving for excellence. He advised them to look into other paths to further their education, such as the University of Guyana and the technical institutions.

He pledged that, under his leadership, the BCB would continue to support cricketers who place emphasis on the importance of acquiring an education.
Foster is challenging cricket clubs and cricket officials in Guyana to sit down with all youth cricketers and discuss the importance of education. Using his club, the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, MS, as an example, Foster said that club management makes sure that each member is aware of the value of a good educational background, and also assists them to achieve it.
Education, he declared, assists youths to “think on their feet”, and this, he said, is one of the main reasons why the club is so successful on the cricket field.
The awards programme was birthed from the BCB being informed of the success of the players. Foster had immediately contacted his close friend and former BCB President, Anil Beharry, to discuss rewarding the six players.
Beharry immediately contacted Mr. Satishwar Persaud, CEO of Adana Homes in Canada, and he agreed to come on board as the sponsor. Adana Homes is a real estate company, and Persaud is also a sponsor of cricket in Canada, where he owns a team.
Foster is expressing profound gratitude to both Beharry and Persaud for their continued support of Berbice Cricket. Persaud, a Berbician by birth, has said he is impressed by the work of the BCB, and has committed himself to working with the board in the future. He also said he would sponsor the educational awards on an annual basis.
Jonathan Rampersaud, who topped the list of awardees with eleven subjects, including nine grade ones, expressed gratitude to the BCB, Beharry and Persaud for honouring the cricketers, and has committed the awardees to making the country proud in the future.