Four cricketers have been selected to receive benefits under the Junior Ambassador Programme and Western Union is plugging $256,000 into this year’s initiative.
At the Western Union head office on Water Street on Wednesday, the money transfer company honoured a commitment it had initially made to four young cricketers of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club (RHTY&SC).
The latest addition from last year’s batch is spinner Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai while the three other players are under-15 national captain and leg spinner Shawn Pereira, Loydel Lewis and Linden Austin. The players will receive cricket gear, hygiene kits and educational supplies from the under-15 to the under-19 level. Marketing Manager of Western Union Natheeah King told reporters that the company’s interest in the programme is to enhance performance.
“Cricket, as a discipline, has been realizing the dreams of many young people in our country. As such, we at Western Union would like to contribute to the dreams of these young cricketers. When they become famous in the sport, Western Union would be very proud to say that we would have contributed to their successes in making their dreams possible; because with Western Union, anything is possible,” King said.
She also urged the players to have an open mind and “a compassionate heart” and not to approach it with any preset agendas.
She also implored them to grab opportunities, and quoting the words of a famous writer, she added: “As you walk down the fairway of life, you must smell the roses along the way, since opportunities don’t present themselves very often.”
Hilbert Foster, CEO of the RHTY&SC, thanked Western Union for their support of young cricketers in Berbice and expressed the hope that the company will continue the trend of seeking to develop young talents in the Ancient County.
Motie-Kanhai and Austin are not members of RHTY&SC but Foster emphasised that his club is “not concerned about itself alone but wants every promising talent in Berbice to develop.”
He also disclosed that Lewis and Pereira are products of a multi-million-dollar investment by the RHTY&SC to develop new and emerging talents.
Both of them are currently in training with the Guyana under-I9 squad while Motie-Kanhai represented Guyana at the under-15 level with Pereira as his captain.
Austin plays for Young Warriors and is viewed as one of the county’s future prospects.
For this year, apart from this sponsorship the company has already co-sponsored the RHTY&SC Annual Awards Ceremony and would in September co-sponsor the club’s 20th Awards Ceremony, Foster noted.
