BCA doing its part to push hurricane preparedness messages

THE Barbados Cricket Association has partnered with the Department of Emergency Management (DEM) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), to spread key messages about the need for citizens to be prepared for this year’s hurricane season.

Steven Leslie, Manager for Marketing and Communications at the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), revealed the above recently, during a press conference held to mark the start of the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

“2020 into 2021 posed a series of challenges for all Barbadians. Certainly, a lot of us had to be displaced. We had the ad-vent of COVID-19, which caused the country to close down in March of 2020 and it impacted significantly the role the Barbados Cricket Association plays on an annual basis, which is to really pull together from all walks of life the men and women in this country, to be able to play organised cricket for the island,” Leslie noted.

“What actually happened a few months ago was not just the displacement, but organisations like the BCA had to actually determine how we could remodel and retool to be able to be relevant within the current modern-day Barbados. So it was very exciting when I approached (Director of the DEM, Kerry Hinds) and also spoke to officials at CDEMA, to say to them that we are going to bring some of our young contemporary cricketers and have them be a part of a message, a campaign which would allow everyone to be aware that they need to keep safe and be prepared for this season,” he stated.

“Initially, we have identified young Kraigg Brathwaite, who is the current West Indies Test Captain; Jason Holder, who served a number of years in that capacity; and our star one-day international batsman, Shai Hope. These three young men in different parts of the globe, are clearly happy to be part of this campaign,” he added.

Leslie later said, “What are we hoping to do with this partnership? The sky is the limit. We believe that by using young identifiable cricketers, you can use musicians, you can use a number of public figures, but certainly, the fact that young people and men and women in middle age can identify with these young people and be able to be a part of a very important message – the message that for 2021 we all want persons to be safe and to be prepared.” (RSM)