Kenny’s join Laventille fight

Two community organisations have formed an alliance to fight escalating crime in the Laventille area. Ammunition for the battle was obtained by the Laventille Youth Facility Advisory Board on Monday in the form of a much-needed table tennis board from Kenny’s Sports Centre. The group’s officials hope to divert the energies of the youngsters in a more purposeful direction with their latest effort. They also hope to facilitate the increasing interest in the discipline at the centre.

Under the Laventille Youth Development Organisation (LYDO), the Advisory Board has been receiving a healthy response to their action-oriented approach involving the youngsters of the area in activities which take them away from the call of the streets. Access to the facility is available to all residents. Rodney Stowe, Board Trustee, and his colleagues on the board including Carlton Neptune Jnr, Board President, aim to show that despite the crime situation, there is a brighter side of Laventille. This is evident at the facility as excited and competitive activities, including table-tennis, engage the attention of the young people which is not often highlighted by the national media.

Stowe revealed plans to branch outdoors with football and cricket competitions and clinics but lamented the current state of disrepair in which the facilities now lay. There is also an acute lack of funding to pay coaches. The competitions would lead to the forming of area teams in the different disciplines, a venture which had been embarked upon but fell victim to the same problems that still exist. With an encouraging success rate, LYDO hope that the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs will see the opportunities for reconstruction of the Laventille area through sport. This includes the Laventille Youth Facility, Upper Laventille Road, East Dry River, Port-of-Spain to other areas blighted by neglect.