By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

For more than a decade, Pastor Anthony Williams has been building a home way from home for a number of track and field athletes at his home in Moore’s Island, Abaco.

And as his programme continues to gain more and more popularity, Williams was continuously pledged support from both the Bahamas Government and private entities.

Today, he has formed an alliance with a group of business owners and young professionals to create the Moore’s Island Student Athlete Programme, headed by licensed civil and structural engineer Nick Dean, who intends to construct a proper dormitory building to take the MISAP to the next level.

“Because of the magnitude of the programme, it’s more difficult to accommodate the boys,” Williams said. “But Nick Dean has stepped in and we have a plan for a dormitory that has already been approved. So we’re trying to get that off the ground because my house is being run down and dilapidated because there are too many persons in it with just one bathroom.”

The goal is to generate some $400,000 to properly construct the dormitory to accommodate 10 bedrooms for 20 boys, but plans are eventually to increase the numbers to 40. It will be equipped with adequate bathroom and kitchen facilities, and outfitted with computers and Internet connections to enhance the learning environment.

Having visited Williams’ home on Moore’s Island, Dean said he was amazed and made a commitment to assist in providing the dorm to accommodate the MISTP, which is expected to branch out to include some females in the future.

“Funding is very tight on the island now because fishing is down and so we are just barely making it,” Williams said. “Thank God for Nick, who sometimes provides us with grocery as well.”

While there are some who would probably question why continue in such conditions, Williams said when he thinks about the young men whose lives are turned around, he is obligated to press forward.

That is why Dean, whose company Integrated Building Services, has stepped forward to make a pledge to assist. IBS is a leading provider of engineering consulting and project management services throughout the Bahamas.

Dean, who also volunteers as an assistant coach to ‘Golden Girl’ Pauline Davis-Thompson with her Bahamas High Performance Athletic Academy, is the chairman of MISAP, whose directors are Rev Williams, Tony Wong, Robert Whittingham, Jason Maynard, Latoya Johnson and Andy Whyte.

“We are registered as a non-profit organisation,” Dean said. “We did a lot of things so far after we formed the board, formulised the programme legally, created the website and a Facebook page and we have already started putting our own monies into it.

“We already have an approved building, which has gone through the process in Marsh Harbour, Abaco and in Moore’s Island. We have already contracted the steel contractor to put up the dormitory and we have the endorsement of both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture to provide some funding for it.”

Dr Daniel Johnson, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, endorsing the programme, said it will complement plans for the proposed National Sports Ascademy and the new Sports Complex proposed for Moore’s Island.

“We support your proposal to engage in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) effort wirh MISIP and hereby confirm our endorsement of the programme,” he said. “The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture will assist the programme with the resources as needed, both during the planning and operational stages of the programme.

“My Ministry is committed to the development of our youth through sports and personal growth and we look forward to working with you and your team.”

Dean, who also presented the proposal to the Bahamas Cabinet for their final approval, said they are looking at breaking ground for the dormitory in June and they hope to be completed this year.

Interested persons wishing to make a contribution are urged to contact MISAP through email info@misapbahamas.com or call 433-2104. Donations can also be made through their account at Royal Bank of Canada account name: Moore’s Island Student Athletic Program, account number: 1004795.

There are five levels of sponsorship which include:

Platinum sponsor - $25,000 or more; Gold sponsor - $10,000; Silver sponsor - $5,000; Bronze sponsor - $2,500 and sponsors – less than $2,500.

“The whole idea is to ensure that these boys get a clear shot at college,” Dean said. “The programme has been able to afford them track colleges so far, but we want to make sure that we have a higher percentage of Moore’s Islanders going to college and coming back and helping to build up their community.

“It’s all about building a community, but it’s a collaboration between government and private companies with an army of donors. We’re willing to take whatever funding that you want to make to the programme.”

At one stage Williams said he was contemplating quitting because of the lack of financial help. But he said since Dean has come on board, he’s been rejuvenated.

“The time that I felt like giving up has changed,” he said. “I see something more positive with a brighter light at the end of the tunnel. So I’m not in it all alone. So I’m pleased with the direction that we are going in.

“Thank God for Nick and his team. We wished we were in it now because I had to send one or two of the boys home because I can’t do it the way I’ve been doing it in the past.”

Williams, who has two children, a 24-year-old son now living in Grand Bahama and a daughter who is still home with his wife, said he’s blessed to be able to make this type of contribution to the growth and development of Abaco and more specifically, Moore’s Island.

While some of the athletes who have passed through the programme have gone to college or are now working in the Bahamas, Williams said he’s very proud of the accomplishment of Steven Gardiner, now a professional athlete.

Gardiner, training under the tutelage of Bahamian assistant coach George Cleare at the University of Georgia, turned in a personal best over the weekend at the Georgia Tech Invitational in the 400 metres in 45.20 seconds to surpass the qualifying time of 45.40 for the IAAF World Championships in August in Beijing, China.

On Sunday, Gardiner was named to the Bahamas team that will compete at the IAAF 2015 World Relays at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium May 2-3.