SPORT MINISTER RESTORES HOPE IN TIGER BAY

Minister of Culture Youth and Sports Charles Ramson interacts with residents of Rosemary Lane, Tiger Bay

Scenes of joy filled Tiger Bay earlier today when the Minister of Sport Charles Ramson Jr. and representatives of two sporting bodies distributed balls to the children.
Tiger Bay is known to produce talented ballers, such as former national goalkeeper Shemroy Arthur. However the lack of facilities, finances and mentorship have tremendously impacted quality talent from the area.

But hope was restored to the residents by Minister Ramson, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and Guyana Amateur Basketball Association, when a team visited the area.

The minister met with residents, who decried the lack of space to fully grow the talent of young football enthusiasts.
Minister Ramson assured the crowd that his ministry, in conjunction with the GFF, will examine the possibility of transforming a vacant plot of land nearby, into a small football field, with the aim being to remove the youths from the streets of Tiger Bay, where football is played virtually every day.
A quantity of basketballs and footballs were distributed to the children, who were brimming with excitement; some of whom started playing with them immediately.

Youngsters from the community show off one of many footballs given to them today

The Sport Minister assured that the visits and vision for the community has not ended. He promised to not only ensure sport is grown in Tiger Bay, but the welfare of the residents is properly taken care of.
“They need more structure in their lives, especially the young people, and sport gives a healthy way of creating avenues for some of the intrinsic qualities for successful people. So I tell people all the time that my foundation for success in life comes from playing competitive sports.

“So you learn the values of competition, you learn the values of teamwork; you learn the values of discipline. All of those things come originally from sport, and you just transpose that into other areas of your lives. Sport is a useful vehicle for them to be able to advance and develop those qualities.”
On August 30, 2020, President Dr Irfaan Ali and First Lady Arya Ali, walked along the streets of Tiger Bay and provided hampers to persons there, in an effort to temporarily offset the economic burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

One hundred fifty relief hampers donated by the business community were distributed.