The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC), Guyana’s leading youth and sports organization, would be celebrating its 30th anniversary in a reduced manner during the month of September.
RHTYSC Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster
The club had earlier this year established a sub-committee headed by its Secretary/CEO, Hilbert Foster, to organise more than 30 activities to mark this historic anniversary, but the coronavirus crisis has forced the club to reduce the number of activities.
The club was formed in September, 1990 under the supervision of three times’ Guyana and Commonwealth Youth Service Awardee the St. Francis Community Developers, formerly the St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Youth Club.
The Club started with 16 members, who were invited to a special meeting on May 15, 1990 by Public Relations Officer of St. Francis, Hilbert Foster. After several meetings over the next four months, the RHTY&SC was formally launched, with Keith Foster as President, Moses Ramchanden as Secretary, and Leon Wiggins as Treasurer.
Today, the club successfully hosts over 700 activities annually, and is one of the top cricket clubs in Guyana.
The RHTY&SC is the only youth and sports club in Guyana to have ever received a national award, The Medal of Service, and to have received five Guyana Cricket Board’s Club of the Year awards: in 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2016.
On the cricket field, the club has won 98 different tournaments, and has produced a combined 105 cricketers for Berbice, Guyana and West Indies at different levels.
Hilbert Foster, who has served as Secretary/CEO for over 20 years, has said that among the activities to be hosted are a pictorial exhibition; special 30th Anniversary Review Magazine; Feeding of the Poor programme; Basil Butcher Trust Fund; Republic Bank Summer Camp; Old age pensioners’ breakfast programme; Spelling Bee Inter Primary School Competition; One-hour television programme; assisting 30 families with special hampers; honouring the oldest RHTY&SC members, and unveiling the 30th anniversary RHTY&SC all-time cricket team.
The club office would also undergo some major repairs, while several junior cricketers would receive cricket gear.
RHTY&SC Asst Secretary/CEO Simon Naidu, who would spearhead the anniversary celebrations with Organising Secretary Rabindranauth Kissoonlall, has said that all plans are in place for a successful celebration, despite the ongoing novel coronavirus crisis. Naidu has said that the club would observe all of the guidelines set down by the Government Task Force, and, if necessary, changes would be made to the list of activities.
The 20-year-old Asst Secretary disclosed that donation of cleaning detergents would be made to the Rose Hall Town Police Outpost, the Rose Hall Town Council, and Rose Hall Town Fire Station as part of the club’s coronavirus response project.
