Rugby youths clean up Playing Field

Early last Saturday morning a group of young boys cleaned the Sharpes Playing field in Chateaubelair. After the six-day gospel crusade a considerable amount of garbage had been left on the field, hence, the lads sprung into action so that they could have the field for their regular Saturday morning rugby practice.

Led by their coach Peace Corps Volunteer James Foster, the lads enthusiastically got down to the task filling several large garbage bags with debris.##M;[more]##

Foster told SEARCHLIGHT that the exercise wasn’t just about cleaning but to teach discipline, respect for the environment and cooperation within the team with the expectation that it would spill over to the wider community.

At present there are over 25 regular members on the team and they are learning the basics of the game, and according to Foster they should be able to compete in a year’s time. “I show them videos and hope to take them to Kingstown some time in the future to see a live game”, he said.

The Minnesota native who holds a degree in journalism also works with the national rugby team and does community development work in Chateaubelair where he resides.

After Saturday’s clean up the team did some practice then hit the beach for more practice and some well-deserved fun. “I love Chato, it’s a great community, the people have been real supportive”, Foster said.