RHTYSC/Republic Bank Summer Camp: Ramdial, Mendonca cop top awards at 18th award ceremony

…Over $1.5M worth of prizes distributed

The 18th annual Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC) Republic Bank Summer Camp came to an end on Friday last with an impressive closing ceremony at the Area H Ground. The ceremony was attended by senior executives of the club, senior staff of Republic Bank, RHTYSC junior cricketers, students of the camp and their parents.

Eleven-year-old Damali Ramdial was named Best Student of the camp by the teaching staff and carried home a total of $500,000 worth of prizes, while Akilah Mendonca received $300,000 worth of prizes as the runner-up student.
Club Secretary Hilbert Foster revealed that the summer camp was first hosted in 2008 with the main objective of assisting primary school students to make a successful transition to the secondary level. Over the years, a total of 1752 youths have benefitted from the summer camp.
The 2026 Summer Camp commenced on July 14, at the Area H Ground, with a registration of 83 students. The students were taught four core subjects, namely Mathematics, English, Social Studies, and Integrated Science, while classes were also held for Introduction to Spanish. Students were also involved in several lectures on a wide range of topics related to their personal development. Among the topics were the importance of education, peer pressure, personal hygiene, the importance of discipline, teenage pregnancy, and behaviour in the classroom.
The summer camp also involved a day of sports where students participated in several sporting events like the 100-metre (m) race, 200m race, 4x100m relay, tug of war, and sack races. Over $200,000 worth of prizes were up for grabs at the Day of Sports.
Students also took part in a quiz competition and were able to win $100,000 worth of prizes. In addition, they benefitted from a lecture on Sports and Nature by Ben-Hardy Jones of the Desserts Vipers Cricket team, who recently took part in the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League.
Head Tutor of the Republic Bank Summer Camp, Sabrina Chaitram, hailed the camp as a resounding success, with all of the students recording scores of over 70 per cent in the final test. She noted that all of the students were committed to expanding their studies so that they could make a successful entrance to the secondary school later this month. She urged the students to remain focused, and to develop a formula of hard work, discipline, and commitment.
Chaitram warned her students that secondary school was more difficult than primary school, and that the next five years would determine the path of their lives.
Senior Banking Executive at Republic Bank Williamsburg Branch, Denisa Ramdial, stated that her bank was very pleased with the RHTYSC’s organising of the Summer Camp over the last eighteen years. She noted that over the years, many of the students of the Republic Bank Summer Camp have gone on to become professionals such as doctors, lawyers, educators and auditors, among others.
Student Akilah Mendonca expressed gratitude to the cricket teams of the RHTYSC for organising the Grade Six Summer Camp, and to Republic Bank for their sponsorship of the four-week event. She stated that all the students of the camp were now fully prepared for the transition to the higher level.
Meanwhile, the cricket club distributed $600,000 worth of educational materials to all of the students. The donated items included a school bag, hardcover exercise books, pens, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, rulers and water bottles. The Best Student, Ramdial, who secured 197 marks of the possible 200 at the end of the camp’s final test. She took home prizes which included a Dell computer from Beepat’s, an electric bike, an electronic tablet, a Comfort Sleep mattress, a designer watch from The Gift Centre, kitchen utensils, and household items, among numerous other prizes. The prizes of Runner-up Best Student Mendonca featured a tricycle, a laptop computer, an electronic tablet, and a Comfort Sleep mattress. The other awardees at the 2026 graduation were the following:
Most Disciplined Student – Roshan Persaud
Most Cooperative – Homesh Ramnarain
Most Committed – Kavya Misir
Most Improved – Simon Benjamin
Best in Mathematics – Malia Wilson
Best Science – Jovan Gray
Best Social Studies – Briana Fraser
Best English Student – Kavya Misir
Best Extra-Curricular Student – Jasmen Hicks
Best Reader/Speaker – Mariah Pompey
They too received a wide range of prizes, including trophies, medals, bicycles, electronic tablets, educational materials, kitchen utensils, designer clothing, sporting equipment, and different hampers.
RHTYSC Cricket Manager Robby Kissoonlall declared that the cricket teams distributed a total of $1.5M worth of prizes and gifts to the summer camp students. The teams organising the event were Poonai Pharmacy Under-12 and -13, Farfan and Mendes Under-15, Bakewell Under-17, Pepsi Under-19, Metro Females and the NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Under-21.
The teams sought to express their gratitude to all the sponsors who supported them in coordinating the Summer Camp, including Republic Bank, Beepat’s, Comfort Sleep, Faiz al Jaffarally, NAMILCO, Ricks and Sari Ltd, Trendsetter Tours, GNNL, The Gift Centre, National Hardware, Beacon Cafe, Global Visa, John Lewis Styles, TDM Construction, SD and L Accounting, Lennox Cush, National Assembly, Canadian Surpluses, GUYBIZ, Premcorp Consultancy Services, Data Technology and AA Snacks Co Ltd.