PM Gaston Browne meets Rai Benjamin- Olympic and World 400m hurdles silver medalist

Antigua and Barbuda: Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda- Gaston Browne was paid a courtesy visit by Olympic, and World 400m hurdles silver medalist Rai Benjamin, son of Antiguan ex-Windies all-rounder Winston Benjamin on Tuesday, September 6, 2022. 

On Monday, Rai, a former student of the Antigua Grammar School (AGS), made a presentation to outstanding athletes at AGS, an initiative he has stated may not be the last.

Earlier, Prime Minister Gaston Browne participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Novelle Richards Academy (SNRA) for the late Leonardo Del Vecchio, the Italian businessman whose philanthropy led to the construction of the fifth form and Physical Education block of the SNRA on September 5, 2022, Monday. 

Through Leonardo Del Vecchio’s foundation, the “Pavillon Foundazone Leonardo Del Vecchio”, the SNRA was gifted with a new school wing at a construction cost of UD$1.6 million earlier this year.

During the wreath-laying ceremony, PM Browne said, “ We are very grateful for his contribution. Again I want to take the opportunity to extend sincerest condolences on behalf of the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda. To Del Vecchio, and the rest of the Del Vecchio family, I hope that with the passage of time and certainly the contributions that he would’ve made here in Antigua and Barbuda and globally will help assuage the pain.

This contribution certainly will live on for a very long time, and I am quite sure that many students, present and future leaders, will be educated in this facility (SNRA). It is one of the best contributions anyone can make to the development of a country.”

Joining Prime Minister Browne at today’s ceremony were the Hon. Daryll Matthew, Minister of Education, L. Bradshaw, Principal of the SNRA, and Wayne Kafcsac CEO of Jumby Bay, along with key education officials.