At the tender age of nine, Ayden Ramcharran is already a baseball star in the making. The sticky-built Ayden, who has Guyanese roots, has been making waves with his several outstanding performances for his club, Ajax Spartans of Eastern Ontario. Although Ajax Spartans is not affiliated with the Blue Jays, Ayden has completed a few practice clinics organised by its training team.
A student of Heritage Park Public School, Ayden, who will enter Grade Four when the new school year commences in September, was already playing baseball before his fourth birthday.
As a matter of fact, Ayden’s interest in the sport was sparked at the age of one when he was given a ball set for his first birthday and according to his mother Melissa, “It was the one toy he played with all day everyday. At the age of two-and-a-half years, Ayden would play on his own in the backyard pretending to run bases.”
Ayden is Ajax Spartans main first base player, but at times he’s called upon to occupy the third base and he also plays outfield when required.
Ayden is credited with several outstanding performances, while continuously getting Runs Batted In (RBI’s) in almost every game. He also had the unique distinction of being named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of a tournament game and leading off a double play.

Among his special skills are good scoops to catch the ball, precise aims when throwing and being a risk-taker when sliding bases in order to be “safe.” Ayden is also recognised for his exceptional sportsmanship when playing first base.
According to his mom, “when Ayden first saw baseball, it was a field of dreams. Enamoured with the sport and inspired to be a player, he chose to dedicate all of his time and energy to learn. As Ayden grew, his passion for the game followed suit”.
With his family by his side, baseball has taught him teamwork, discipline and how to win and lose. Ayden has plans to make his mark on the game of baseball, but always placing education first.”
Ayden comes from a family who is heavily involved in sports administration. His Guyanese grandfather Albert Ramcharran is the president of both Ontario Softball Cricket League (OSCL) and Scarborough Cricket Umpires Association (SCUA).
One of two children for Anthony and Melissa Ramcharran, Ayden’s other sibling is Aliya. His other grandparents are Nazmoon Ramcharran, Shanta Singh and the late Ramesh Singh.

Giving Health To Kids, formerly Guyana Help The Kids (GHTK) will be holding its 9th Annual Fundraising Dinner on November 2, 2019 at the Paramount Eventspace, 222 Rowntree Dairy Rd, Woodbridge, Ontario. Doors open at 6 pm.
GHTK was established in 2007 and is a registered Canadian Charity with the goal of decreasing the neonatal and infant mortality in developing countries. During the visits of Dr. Narendra Singh and his wife Dr. Shirley Sit to Guyana, they were deeply saddened to learn of the high percentage of neonatal deaths occurring at the Hospitals in Guyana. They saw that the Neonatal Intensive Care Units were poorly equipped and lacked life-saving equipment that is standard in NICUs in Canada.
GHTK is managed by a volunteer Board of Directors and more than 90% of funds raised are used for educational programs and equipment purchases. Administrative overhead costs are less 10% of funds raised. In 2018, the Board decided to expand their outreach in the Caribbean and the program has been warmly received in Antigua; so the name, Guyana Help the Kids, was changed Giving Health To Kids.
Dr. Singh and Dr. Sit made it their goal to help the country of Dr. Singh’s birth improve on the care and treatment of babies and children by creating the Vision of GHTK “Every Child deserves a Tomorrow.” This could only be done by working with the various government agencies in Guyana, together with the hospitals involved in providing the health care to babies.
GHTK has recruited a dedicated and compassionate Board of Directors who share the vision put forth by Dr. Singh and Dr. Sit. The major focus of GHTK has been to establish a comprehensive education program for local physicians, nurses and other allied healthcare professionals. In addition, a major goal of the Board has been to purchase specialized equipment, in order to elevate the level of neonatal care.
Since the inception of GHTK, infant mortality has been reduced by 40%. Over half of a million dollars has been raised from generous donors and sponsors. Your support is the key to the success of the GHTK. Your gifts fund life-saving equipment and technology, capital improvements and continuing education opportunities, providing dedicated hospital physicians and staff with the necessary tools to give BETTER health to kids.
For info, call 416-747-1991 or email Office@ghtk.ca
Website: www.ghtk.ca

The Canadian Fifth Naparima Alumni Scout Group of Trinidad & Tobago met on Saturday, August 10th, 2019 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Naparima Scout Group. Arranged by Azam Khan, Krishendath Harry-Paul, Chandra Dass and Harold Mohammed, it was the Canadian Alumni's fifth consecutive year of celebrating the Group's annual reunion.
Among the guests this year was the Member of Parliament for Mississauga East-Cooksville, Peter Fonseca.
The Fifth Naparima Scout Group was founded in 1919 by Mr Clarence Gopaul and later joined by other members among whom were George Bhoopsingh, Amral Sultankhan, Roy Joseph, Chattorman M.H. Paul, Clarance E. Hubah, Clayton L. Appleton, Rampersaud Harry-Paul (Bhan), Gerard Boodhram, Dwarka Harry-Paul (Zone), Robert Sammy, Manny Ramjohn and George Sammy, to name a few. Each member was required to take the scout oath: “I promise to do my best, to do my duty to God,. to serve my country, to help other people and to keep the Scout law”.
The group not only taught its members vital outdoor and survival skills but also aimed to support the next generations in their physical, mental, and spiritual development. This disciplined art allowed them to participate in many social events such as the various world jamborees as well as a variety of competitions.
This was all possible under the guidance and leadership of their scoutmaster, Mr George Sammy. These Fifth Naparima Scouters are a true testament to the definition of scouting and they continue to show their skills despite leaving the group many years ago.
Some of the Alumni became professors, engineers, doctors, lawyers, priests, dentists, pilots, navy service personnel, and accountants, among other professions. It illustrates that the skills acquired in the scout group were not merely applicable to scouting but were a guideline of how to better one's life overall.
During their reign these dynamic Scouters won many competitions and awards for their outstanding performances and their exceptionally distinguished services. These include Awards of Merit, Chancellor, Jamboree and Hochoy flags, San Fernando District Trophy, Haji Shaffick Rahaman & Eileen Martin Trophies, the South Totem and Pat Diaz Totem Poles, as well as medals, certificates and significant badges. One such significant badge was the Queen Scout Badge which was presented by the Queen of England herself to some of the model scouts when she visited Trinidad and Tobago on her Jubilee in 1968.
This year's reunion was hosted by Wood Badger scout Krishendath and Queen scout Jagdish Harry-Paul, sons of the late Dwarika Harry-Paul who was also a former Kings Scout.
Alumni Scouters travel annually from all over the world to attend, including from Trinidad, USA, Western Ontario and Vancouver, to relive the memories of the past and enjoy campfires and sing-a-longs which are accompanied by a delicious dinners. These Alumni Scouters must be congratulated for their commitment, playing vital role models in society and keeping the torch alive..

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) latest report, Recruiting Immigrant Workers: Canada, identifies Canada as a role model for successful migration management and as a benchmark for other countries.
The report also highlights some of the keys to Canada’s success, most notably its holistic approach to attraction, selection, retention, and settlement and integration, as well as Canada’s commitment to continual testing and monitoring.
Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said last week: “We know that immigration spurs economic growth, helps address the challenges, in particular labour shortages, our country faces with an ageing population, and plays a crucial role in attracting highly-skilled talent to keep our country at the forefront of the global economy.”
Hussen said that Canada is a proud member of the OECD and his government welcomed the report. He noted: “Over the course of the last four years, we have made much progress in attracting the immigrant workers to fill the jobs of today and tomorrow. Through new programs such as the Atlantic Immigration Pilot and the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot and most recently our Agri-food Immigration Pilot, we have been able to attract people from around the world to fill jobs to support our Canadian way of life.
“Since 2017, our Global Skills Strategy has attracted more than 40,000 highly skilled individuals to fill critical positions, helping 1,100 Canadian companies grow and create 60,000 new jobs in the process. In addition, we have cut the wait times from seven months to as little as 10 days, so that employers can meet their needs faster to keep their businesses moving.
“We also made changes to Express Entry so that international students with Canadian education and highly skilled individuals with family already in Canada are scored higher on their application to enter Canada.”
Hussen said: “Immigration is a central pillar of this country’s future economic success and our Government will continue to support immigration policies and programs that enhance the economic, social and demographic vitality of communities across Canada.”

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