The Chronicle
By Lovemore Dube
1 August
THE Heath Streak Initiative fundraising dinner will be held at a city hotel tonight with both the India and Zimbabwe cricket teams in attendance.
Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart will be the guest of honour in an event organisers have paid tribute to city businessman Raj Modi for facilitating the hosting.
Joseph Rego, the chief executive officer of the Heath Streak Consultancy and Sports Development Initiative confirmed that the event is on. He said the Who is Who in local cricket and the Bulawayo businesspersons were expected to attend. The response to the event, he said, was overwhelming with a leading Indian television station which does extensive cricket coverage and Supersport set to cover the event.“I would like to pay tribute to Modi of Bellevue Spar and Sai Enterprises, businessman and philanthropist for making this event possible. He has paid for about 95 percent of the expenses for the dinner with the rest coming from the Bulawayo business community.
“Modi has done so much for the Bulawayo and Zimbabwe communities. I have no doubt the Heath Streak Foundation has started on a good footing with people like Modi behind it and it is such selflessness that can only make this dream a reality,†said Rego an Indian national who has decided to settle in Zimbabwe and work on Streak’s academy.
He said more than 300 people expected to attend the event include Zimbabwe cricketers past and present.
“Other than Coltart, Modi, the business community and the national teams, past and present day cricket players will be in attendance,’ said Rego.
He described the response to the dinner as overwhelming.
“There are no more seats for the event. The support has been tremendous and we look forward to a good evening to launch the initiative which should help us groom stars for Zimbabwe in the next three to five years,’ said Rego.
Streak’s dream is to come up with an academy to afford Bulawayo’s less privileged to take up cricket.
An all rounder during his time as a Zimbabwe Test cricket player, Streak is a role model for many youngsters in Zimbabwe and abroad.