Keep supporting sports
T&T Express
Management consultant Richard Braithwaite is calling on sponsors to continue to support the development of sporting and non-governmental organisations in the country, during what are now trying economic times.
Speaking at the La Brea Sports Foundation's annual awards function at the Brighton Sports Club, La Brea, recently, Braithwaite said this support is necessary to help keep crime down.
Noting that the southwest region in particular was afflicted with relatively high levels of poverty, unemployment and a high level of school dropouts, Braithwaite, also a former manager of the Trinidad and Tobago senior national football team, said, "And as a senior police official recently stated, these dropouts are the main 'feedstock' for the criminal gangs. In such an environment, drug abuse, delinquency and gang violence are always knocking at the door.
"If you do not have strong community-based organisations or institutions, the door will be opened and the entire house will be invaded."
Highlighting the philosophy of Walton James, former managing director of Trintoc during the oil price collapse and subsequent downturn in the 1980's, Braithwaite said: "It is in times of difficulty that sport and culture become even more important, because they help to maintain community spirit, build morale and inspire hope for the future."
Society, he pointed out, still does not appreciate the important role that sport and culture play in community development and nation-building. He said it was important that this attitude change, since it was possible that with the current economic trend showing no signs of dissipation, companies may choose to abandon sponsorship programmes of cultural and humanitarian organisation as well as sporting clubs.
"We still view them as trivial pursuits that are easily abandoned at the first sign of economic distress. Already, there are signs that this myopic view is gaining popularity within corporate boardrooms across the country," he noted.
The southwestern regional itself, he said, faces several serious challenges that will require a new and more meaningful collaboration among stakeholders, especially the energy sector companies, which have deep roots in that part of the country.
Braithwaite pointed out that the members of the foundation are making a valiant attempt to overcome the narrow and petty issues that continue to hamper social progress and community development in the area, and are seeking to transcend the "artificial borders" that divide several communities.
The foundation, he said, sees Sobo, Vessigny, Vance River, Chinese Village and Rousillac as part of the same La Brea region.
"The La Brea Sports Foundation is young and it has a long way to go, but it is one of an emerging group of community-based organisations that are offering a more innovative and indigenous approach to social development, especially among the youth.
"That is why groups such as the La Brea Sports Foundation deserve our continued support, especially in these challenging times," he pointed out.
