What Happens to a dream deferred ?

Does it dry up?

Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over-

Like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

Like a heavy load

Or does it explode?

By Langston Hughes

Field of Dreams Project

The ‘Field of Dreams Project”, as we called it, was our lesson in community development.  The Meadowbrook/Backlands field was a jungle in itself.  Weeds, trees and other debris had overtaken it.  Bannas came to the realization that for this project to be successful, it needed to be a total community effort.  We organized the youths in the area and formed the Meadowland Mystics Boys and Girls Club (hereafter, MMBGC), with elected officials.  We registered the organization with the Georgetown Football and Basketball Association.  We financed the cost of having the National Parks Commission clear, chip, level and roll the field.  MMBGC was responsible for clearing and burning the debris.

MMBGC also patched the fence surrounding the ground with barbwire and boards, in anticipation of the roaming cows getting onto the field and damaging it.  It was quite a community effort.  All was going well.  The field was completed in December 2000 and scheduled to open in the New Year.  Our plan was to coordinate the opening of the field with the new school year and present the schools and the community with a complete playfield.  Unfortunately this was not to be.  Apparently, the forces of stagnation were against us.  In hindsight, it was a bit of bad luck, a teaspoon of oversight, with a touch of limited finances, and a drop of bureaucracy that turned the Field of Dreams project into a nightmare.

The Field of Nightmares Project

What turned the dream into a nightmare was that there had been a couple of days of rain, making the soil of the playfield soft.  To further complicate matters, some inconsiderate cow owner (we think) had opened the gates of the playfield and allowed his/her cows to roam onto the field.  The result was the field was severely damaged by the cows.  This incident completely took the energy out of the project.  Our finances were completely drained.  The gloom that stagnates a community, the one that allows nay sayers to sit on the sidelines proclaiming, “I told you that project would get anywhere,” overtook us.  Sayings like, “Nothing in Guyana ever finishes, it only starts,” were singing in our ears.  People told us that it would be better to give up, instead of attempting to fix the field.  .

Meanwhile, the grass was not waiting on permission to grow, it was rapidly overtaking the field.  We tried in vain to keep cutting the grass until permission was acquired to do the intense work that was needed, but it was a losing battle.  The finances had dried up - the dream had been deferred.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

In 2003, the Mayor and City Council, with the help of the lotto funds, constructed a fence for the "Field of Dreams”.  The MCC were able to clear, chip, level and roll the Field.   And ball was once again playable on the field.  In addition, the President Youth Initiative Scheme built a Community Center at the southern end of the field.  In addition, four computers came with the use of the community center. Currently, however, the management of the grounds is still under question.  Future community development will hopefully solve this problem.  As it stands, Bannas Foundation continues to maintain the upkeep of the field, and the children are able to play and learn football on it, as was our initial goal.  Our only concern is that this purpose continues to be fulfilled. 

Having a playable field provided the Bannas Foundation with the impetus to resume the project of having organized recreational sports in the Meadowbrook/Lodge Backlands community.  We have reorganized the Meadowlands Boys and Girls Club and started football training for approximately fifty disadvantaged boys and girls of the Meadowbrook/Lodge Backland area, ages ranging from 4 - 16.

Finally, we are seeing the results of years of perseverance.  Bannas Foundation was able to secure donations of used football equipment from the Beltsville Boys and Girls Club of Maryland in 2003.  The youths are playing organized football.  They practice Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30 – 6pm, and on Saturdays we hold a tournament amongst ourselves.