The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, through the newly launched Basil Butcher Trust Fund, has come out in support of the community’s oldest resident.
Recently, shockwaves were sent through the country, particularly Rose Hall Town when news broke of the brutal rape and beating of the 98-year-old resident.
According to a release from the club, the Trust Fund was recently launched and is a collaboration between the club and the family of the late West Indies middle-order batsman who passed away in 2019 after a prolonged illness.
According to the release, through the fund, the woman received three cases of Ensure Milk as well as the installation of solar lights in her home and yard.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the club, Hilbert Foster, is also spearheading a project to repair the stairs and replace several windows of the house.
Foster also committed to assisting the elderly woman for as long as she lives and issued an appeal to the Guyana Police Force to bring those responsible for the horrendous act to justice.
“Millions of dollars’ worth of cricket gear, cricket balls, sports equipment, bicycles, school bags, educational materials, food hampers, clocks, chicken products, cleaning detergents and COVID-19 protective items were donated across Berbice in 2020 while 14 youths in Linden also benefitted,” stated the release.
“The Butcher family has been very supportive of the club efforts to make a positive difference in the lives of the less fortunate, elderly and youths,” the release added.
Additionally, Foster along with Blossom Butcher, the youngest daughter of the late Butcher handed over a bicycle to Under-17 player Nathan Kistama to assist him to attend school and cricket practice sessions.
The fund also donated three cricket bats to the club’s under-13 cricket development programme while three junior cricketers each received a complete cricket uniform.
Through the fund, a financial contribution to the Kildonan Cricket Club was made to assist them in the purchasing of two boxes of balls.
“He [Butcher] was a legend on the cricket field during his career and for decades was a positive role model and inspiration to all of us. He was a driving force in our success and as such, we feel privilege to honour him and to make sure that the legacy of Basil Butcher lives on. He always spoke on the importance of paying it forward and this Trust Fund would make sure that his memory is forever with us,” said Foster.
Blossom Butcher, in brief remarks, praised the outstanding work of the club and stated that her father was a strong supporter of its efforts to touch the lives of the less fortunate.
She pledged to work along with the RHTYSC management to make the 2021 edition a success.
Foster disclosed that the second edition of the fund would actually start around August as the organisers would use the next six months to raise the necessary finance for the project. Special emphasis, he stated, would be placed on assisting less fortunate cricketers, families and students.
Basil Butcher played 44 test matches for the West Indies between 1958 and 1969, scoring 3104 runs at an average of 43.11 with seven centuries.
