Digicel Guyana, on Sunday last teamed up with the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) and gave 20 deserving youths from Buxton Cricket Academy a chance of a lifetime.
The youths had the opportunity to meet members of the Guyana Amazon Warriors team including Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, Keemo Paul, skipper Shoaib Malik among others shortly before play on Sunday. Paul and Hetmyer took the opportunity to offer encouraging words of advice to the youths. Hetmyer encouraged the youngsters to get involved in sports since he sees this as a means of staying motivated and not falling by the wayside.
Paul, on the other hand, encouraged them to follow their dreams.
“Nothing comes easy, you have to be disciplined at all times,” Paul said.
The 21-year-old Guyanese player also noted that sports can be the way out of poverty since he knows what it is like to work hard.
“Just keep training, working hard and stay focussed,” Paul told the youths.
After the meet and greet, the youths stayed and watched the Warriors take on the Barbados Tridents, compliments of Digicel.
“We are very pleased to be a part of this activity, simply because providing these young people with an experience and the possibility of changing the course of their lives through cricket is what the Digicel youth CPL series is all about.
“We are giving them opportunity to experience CPL first hand and meet and learn from their heroes. This is the essence of cricket, to foster development and growth of tomorrow’s generation.
“CPL exemplifies this not only in Guyana but throughout the region and Digicel cannot be any prouder to be a part of this, Vidya Sanichara of Digicel said.
The youths, ranging from 13-19 years of age, came from the East Coast corridor. Cordel Martins, one of the club members expressed appreciation.
The Buxton Cricket Academy strives to use sports as a means to give these youths a chance to focus on something positive. Martins is one such product; he was once getting himself into trouble on the streets. He is now gainfully employed and has developed a passion for the game.
In its third year, the Digicel CPL Youth Series continues to foster youth engagement and development.
