Sports Development

The Bannas Foundation has been in existence since 1997. The founders of the organization, Keith “Roddy” Walcott, Kevin “Jahman” Walcott, Johnny “Overseas” Barnwell and Clarence “Starry” Coleridge, who have all been involved in the development of sports in Guyana in varying aspects, felt the need to contribute in some way to the development of the youth of Guyana.  Thus, it is not surprising that the Bannas Foundation chose the arena of sports development to introduce the organization to the public of Guyana.  As we progressed, we decided to become more diverse in our mission, and focus on community, as well as youth, development through recreational and social activities.

Community Development

In 1999, our mission was expanded to include community development because we felt it necessary to do something about the kids playing basketball and football in the Meadowbrook streets.  A dangerous activity for both driver and players, it was this same problem that had galvanized the youths of the Meadowbrook Community twenty –five years earlier.  Twenty –five years ago, the Meadowbrook Boys and Girls Club had actively campaigned to have a recreational field erected in their community.  The club had attempted clearing the ground themselves, but to no avail. They held fundraisers to raise the necessary capital to have the field cleared by the National Parks Commission, but the success of having a playfield in the area still eluded the community.  Today, residential dwellings have been erected on the old playfield.  Therefore, the Bannas Foundation decided to undertake the responsibility of rehabilitating the Meadowbrook /Backlands playing field, another field in the adjoining Lodge, Backlands community. This project coined the "Fields of Dreams Project" was our introduction to community development.