200 children from 10 Port-of-Spain primary schools took part in the Atlantic LNG Sports For Life Programme at the Queen's Park Oval over the last school term. To celebrate its completion, hampers were presented to ten outstanding students at a closing ceremony at the same venue yesterday. Co-ordinator Kumar Rampat said the term had been a huge success and he was looking forward to beginning with a new batch of students in January. "We wanted to teach the children how to best practice a healthy lifestyle. Things like responsibility, sharing and co-operation. We felt that if they could learn those values on the cricket field and classroom, it would make them better citizens. We also wanted to improve their academic performance by introducing them to computers."
The charitable programme, which was launched in April 2009, combines sport, education and healthy lifestyle training to change the lives of children who are failing to reach their full potential at school and in society. The children took part in two-hour after-school or Saturday morning sessions which were split between learning and sport coaching. The learning component of the programme included specially developed curriculum material in key subjects such as English, Math and Science, along with healthy lifestyle and leadership modules. The aim is, over a period, to institute a national network of learning centres across T&T which will be based at a combination of cricket, football and athletics stadiums, along with community sports facilities.The September-December, 2010 version of the programme included students from Eastern Girls, St Agnes AC, Ascension AC, Four Roads Government, Belmont Boys, Belmont Government, Woodbrook Presbyterian and Betham Girls.