Community Centre grounds being rehabilitated

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 21:01 by GxMedia

Community grounds across Guyana are being rehabilitated by government through a GUY$300 million dollar grant, and already one community centre hopes to tackle deviance among youths.

Sport Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony says 26 community grounds in Region Four and 20 in Berbice have already received grants. He said none of the 155 grounds would be left out of the project.

“There is no region that is excluded from this programme because we are very serious about getting back sports into our community,” he told a gathering at the commissioning of a pavilion at the Enmore Community Centre ground, East Coast Demerara.

Anthony announced that a management committee would be installed next week to run the affairs of the Community Centre and allocate time for the various sport disciplines- cricket, volleyball, athletics and karate- to be held there.

Chairman of the Enmore Cricket Club, Tegnauth Jadunauth said 50 youths between 12 and 19 years are being mentored. The mentors visit the youths’ homes where they talk with them and their parents in order to build partnerships and address undesirable behaviours.

“Things like indiscipline, things like unwillingness to cooperate, those are some of the things we are tackling,” he said. Jadunauth urged parents to allow their children to participate or risk the conditions deteriorating again.

In his remarks, President Donald Ramotar urged the gathering to have a greater appreciation for recreation, sport and culture. “These are very essential in lifting the quality of life in our country,” he said.

He hoped that sport would “create solidarity and teach people to work in teams” rather than using drugs.