The Buxton Youth Developers (BYD) of East Coast Demerara now has a place to conduct educational and recreational activities thanks to the Canadian High Commission and the Rotary Club of Georgetown, which have funded the construction of a multipurpose building, bleacher, and sanitary block to aid the group in its endeavours.
The facilities were released to the BYD at a handing over ceremony held on Wednesday at the Vigilance Playfield, East Coast Demerara. Present at the small gathering, Raymond Drouin of the Canadian International Develop-ment Agency (CIDA), who stated that the ceremony was an expression of Canada’s commitment to supporting community development that has a direct positive impact on youth. He revealed that the construction of the building, bleacher and sanitary block was made possible through the provision of G$7,443,000 by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI).
During a brief interview with Stabroek News, founder of the BYD Robin Phillips shared his gratitude to both God and CIDA, the former for making the availability of the new facilities to them possible and the latter for funding it. He added that he knows the facilities will benefit not only the community of Buxton but neighbouring communities as well.
Funding for the construction of the multipurpose building was donated in September of last year, while $900,000 was contributed by the Rotary Club of Georgetown.
The BYD was formed in March 2007 with the mission of “Regaining the glory of Buxton through Sports, Education and Culture.” The group currently offers classes in reading, spelling, writing, Mathematics and Social Studies every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the abandoned Buxton Community Market. A community library is accessible on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as sport sessions, which are also held on the weekend. All classes are open to adults as well as children from Buxton as well as neighbouring communities.
