RHTY&SC, Republic Bank donate educational materials to schoolchildren

Guyana’s leading youth and sports organisation, the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) and its 10 cricket teams have begun their annual Back to School programme.

Last Wednesday, with support from the Rose Hall Town branch of Republic Bank (Guyana), the Club provided school bags and educational materials to dozens of students preparing for their first term at the secondary school level.
Assistant Secretary/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Simon Naidu noted that every year the teams normally would distribute more than $1 million in school bags and educational materials, but owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the target would be $400,000 in items. Naidu noted that under the Basil Butcher Trust Fund, students would also benefit from other form of assistance as the cricket teams seek to encourage youths to stay in school and complete their education.
The Assistant Secretary/CEO disclosed that for over a decade, Republic Bank and the RHTY&SC had hosted an annual Summer Camp for 60 Grade Six students preparing for secondary school, but this year’s edition was cancelled owing to the worsening COVID-19 situation in Berbice. He noted that while all arrangements were in place, the club consulted with the sponsor as the COVID-19 cases increased rapidly in Guyana and decided to call off the camp. The funds were then used to provide the school bags and items such as pens, exercise books, pencils, rulers, sharpeners, and folders.
Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster, at the presentation ceremony, hailed Republic Bank as a friend of the club and one of the main reasons why the RHTY&SC was successful in fulfilling its mandate to youths. Foster, in a well-received inspirational speech to the students, urged them to make education the number one priority in life and told them that the five years in secondary school would determine their future. Foster, who is also the President of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), also spoke of the importance of getting involved in sports. He advised the youths to choose their friends carefully as secondary school required a more mature attitude than primary school.
Foster spoke broadly on the need to say no to drugs, suicide, alcohol, tobacco, crime and yes to education, religion, life, and culture. The RHTY&SC Secretary/CEO committed the club to assisting the students in the future so that they can fulfil their potential in the classroom and even in sports.
The cricket teams of the RHTY&SC are Poonai Pharmacy Under 12 and Under 13, Farfan and Mendes Under 15, Bakewell Under 17 and Second Division, Pepsi Under 19 and Intermediate, Metro Female, and Namilco Thunderbolt Flour First Division and Under 21.