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Sport
as diversion
The
people of
Guyana
are sport mad. Cricket is so popular that it is known as “the other
God”! Football is also played just about everywhere, and basketball,
volleyball and athletics are also extremely popular.
Guyana
is also very poor, and young
people are vulnerable to being lured into gangs, and the related worlds of
crime and drug running, thus ruining their futures before they have had a
chance to begin.
Because
so many Guyanese people love sport it is an ideal diversion vehicle for
the poorest young people, who are most at risk of being enticed into
crime. We worked in different locations to establish sports diversion
programs in some of the poorest areas of
Guyana
, and spent some time working with those who will take on responsibility
for coaching football and cricket in particular now the team has returned
to the
UK
.
One
of the biggest issues is sports equipment – it is very difficult to get
your hands on equipment of any kind in
Guyana
, and when you do it is extremely expensive. So before the team arrived 5
pallet loads of sports equipment was shipped across to
Guyana
. The HFT has taken responsibility for ensuring that this sports equipment
reaches those most in need of it. Some had already been distributed before
the team arrived, more was distributed as the team visited different
areas, and there is still some to be given out.
But
the key thing is that each scheme is sustainable, so before we went out a
number of the team will took F.A. and E.C.B accredited training courses.
Not only were we able to spend time with those who will coach the young
people in the future, we also left football and cricket coaching manuals
so that the coaches have the resources to develop their own skills, as
well as the skills of the young people they are working with.
For
more details and photos click here
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