Berbice’s and arguably Guyana’s leading youth and sports Club, the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, M.S, through its eight cricket teams have collaborated with the Edward B. Beharry Co. Ltd recently to launch the second edition of their Say No to Drugs, Crime, Suicide and Yes to Sports, Education and Life Programme.
The RHTY&SC, M.S have partnered with the Guyana Police Force ‘B’ Division and the Ministry of Education Region 6 Department to spread the Say No and Say Yes message to all schools in the ancient county.
Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster stated that the programme was launched in 2015 in thirty schools in Region 6 and was a major success. The 2015 edition involved distribution of banners, posters and Club’s Youth Information Booklet. A Massive March and rally was also held with over one thousand students in attendance.
The 2016 campaign would involve fifteen schools each from the Regions 5 and 6, each of the schools would receive a 5’x6’ Banner, posters for every classroom and twenty copies of the 40 pages youth information booklet.
The booklet has information on twenty seven topics for youths including the role of a Sports Ambassador, Public Manners, Danger of Drugs Abuse, HIV/Aids, Peer Pressure, Table Manners, Choosing Friends, Suicide, Importance of Education, Being a Role Model, Do’s and Don’ts of Facebook and the Importance of Reading and research. The long serving Secretary stated that the RHTYSC, M.S was totally committed to assisting all youths across Berbice to fulfil their full potential in life and resist the evil ways of Satan.
Foster also revealed that another segment of the 2016 edition was the hosting of a 40 Team Cricket Competition which would be used to promote the Say No message. The tournament would see Berbice being divided into four sub-zones and would be played using the popular 5/5 format. Ten teams would be included in each Sub-Zone (West Berbice, New Amsterdam/Canje, Lower Corentyne and Central/Upper Corentyne) and a one day tournament would be held in each area to get three teams to advance to the Grand Finals.
The Winner of the tournament would receive $150,000.00 and a trophy, while runner up would receive $75,000.00 and 3rd place $25,000.00. Interested Clubs are invited to call the Club Office on 337-4562 or email [email protected] for more information.
Police Commander of ‘B’ Division, Ian Amsterdam stated that he was elated at the outstanding work of the RHTY&SC and its cricket teams. He hailed the Say No and Yes Campaign as a visionary initiative which would play a major role in assisting youth to avoid social ills and assisting them to lead a productive life.
He encouraged other Clubs and NGO’s to follow in the footsteps of the RHTYSC and spoke broadly on the step the police are making to make society more secured. School Welfare Officer Stephen Bactowar speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Education was pleased to be associated with the campaign as he was concerned at social ills affecting students and he pledged full support for the numerous projects, the RHTYSC was undertaking to make a positive difference to society.
Brand Manager of Edward B. Beharry Co. Ltd, Kamini Naresh stated that her company was satisfied with the success of the campaign and noted that investing in the future of youths is one of the best investments that a company can make.
Ms. Naresh stated that it was very important to get youths to understand the social ills that could affect their personal development and at the same time develop a love for an educational background and involvement in sports. She congratulated the RHTYSC and the cricket teams for representing her company’s brand with excellence.
The 2016 edition was launched with the presentation of banners, posters and booklets to fifteen primary schools in Region 6 including NO 36, NO 40, NO 48, Alness, Kildonan, Sheet Anchor, Fort Wellington, New Amsterdam, Cumberland and Eversham Schools. Representatives of the schools also received posters, stickers and brochures from the RHTYSC/ GUYOIL Traffic Education Campaign which was launched last week.
The eight cricket teams – RHT Farfan and Mendes Under 15, Bake Well Under 17 and Second Division, Pepsi Under 19 and Intermediate, Metro Females and Gizmos & Gadgets Under 21 and First Division teams would like to express gratitude to Anjulie Beharry-Strand, Satesh Singh and Kamini Naresh of Edward B. Beharry Co. Ltd, Police Commander Ian Amsterdam, The Region 6 Education Officer MS. Jaikishun, DTV-8 and LRTVS CH10 for their support of the campaign.