Sixty-six less fortunate Lower Corentyne Students received $300,000 worth of educational materials from the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC) and other groups at the second presentation ceremony of the Patricia Moniz Memorial Educational Trust Fund.
The Farfan and Mendes under-15, Bakewell under-17 and Pepsi under-19 teams also collaborated with relatives of the late Patricia Moniz for the ceremony. Six students drawn from the Port Mourant Junior High School and Primary schools received full educational packages each worth $10,000. The other 60 students received educational materials worth $4000 each.
Secretary/CEO of the RHTYSC Hilbert Foster said Moniz was a loyal supporter of the Club and after her death, her only daughter Andrea Budhoo, who resides in Canada, agreed to set up the programme in her mother’s name.
The three junior teams are responsible for the operation of the Trust Fund under their self-development programme and Foster lauded them for their discipline and commitment to promoting the ‘Say No to Drugs and Yes to Education’ message to their peers. Foster challenged the students to use the educational materials for the intended purpose – to stay in school and complete their education.
He urged them to use the word “excellence” as the hallmark in everything they do. Moniz’s aunt Bernadette King said her niece was a passionate crusader of youth development through education and sports. She firmly believed that no child should be deprived of an education because of poverty. King said her family was honoured to be associated with the RHTYSC and its junior cricket teams to keep her niece’s memory alive.
Vice Captain of the Rose Hall Town Pepsi Team (RHTPT) Terrence Madramootoo in brief remarks called on the awardees to always think before they act and to set high goals for themselves. He said the project was special to his team as it was the first self-development project since winning the Berbice under-19 championship.
