Minister Rodrigues, OPM, Dave West Indian, Beacon Café support RHTY&SC Christmas programme
– John Lewis Styles, The Gift Centre, Star Rentals, Delmur Shipping also onboard
The plans of the 12 cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) to make a positive difference in the lives of the less fortunate and single-parent households during the festive season received a massive boost on Friday when several donors handed over their contributions to the effort.
The 12 teams under the supervision of club management would be undertaking a total of 12 major activities and would also be hosting the seventh edition of the very popular Christmas Village.
Dave Narine hands over the donation to RHTY&SC’s Hilbert Foster
Club Secretary/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hilbert Foster, along with Vice President Mark Papannah and Assistant Secretary/CEO Simon Naidu, visited Georgetown on Friday and received a wide array of contributions from friends of the club as preparations steamed ahead. Prime Minister Mark Phillips and Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry, Susan Rodrigues, both honorary members of the RHTY&SC,MS, handed over financial contributions to the programme, which would include the distribution of 1000 food hampers, 7000 Christmas toys, cycles to youths, educational materials to students, Christmas breakfast for senior citizens, and Christmas packages for single-parent households; a feeding programme; a Christmas concert and assistance to other Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), churches and clubs in the county.
The programme was launched on December 1 and would conclude on December 24 with the final night of the Christmas village.
Ramdeo Kumar of Beacon Café hands over a donation of toys to Foster in the presence of Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir
Dave West Indian Imports handed over $200,000 which was used to purchase toys while Ramdeo Kumar of Beacon Café donated a large amount of toys to the club. Other donors to the programme who handed over their contributions on Friday were Delmur Shipping, Jennifer Cipriani, The Gift Centre, John Lewis Styles, Chandradat Chintamani, Fitzroy McLeod, and Lennox Cush of Star Rentals.
RHTY&SC Assistant Secretary/CEO Naidu expressed thanks to all the donors and reassured them that as usual, the events would be well organised. He also disclosed that the club had obtained permission from the COVID-19 task force for the hosting of the Christmas village, and stated that it would be held under very strict COVID-19 guidelines. Only vaccinated adults would be allowed into the village and they would be allowed a maximum of 20 minutes.
The village would involve the transformation of the Rose Hall Town Primary School into a dreamland of fantasy for kids with fairy lights, dozens of inflatable characters, the Nativity Scene, a 20-foot Christmas Tree, Christmas Star, and toy houses among numerous other attractions. Foster, who is also the President of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) and a Director of Cricket West Indies (CWI), stated that the objectives of the village were to promote the true tradition of Christmas, provide clean entertainment to families, promote social cohesion, and keep children away from loud music and lewd behaviour.
