The Maraval resident said he never attended school and learnt everything he knows at home.

He added: “I fell in love with table tennis from watching it on the television.

“But it was only when I was 15 years old that I decided to try my hand at the sport.”

La Rose admitted: “It was hard work for me at first but I had a strong mind and with constant perseverance on my part, I became good at the game.

“My family, some of whom are currently abroad, also gave me a lot of moral support.”

He continued: “I currently live with my sister, but I still have to support myself by any means possible.”

That is the second reason why La Rose has been begging on the streets:

“I also do it in order to earn a living.”

However, La Rose insisted that the main reason for his begging is to support the children at his Carenage-based table tennis training camp.

“There are 20 children in the camp, some of whom are less fortunate than I am, and I also find myself providing them with passage and lunch money during the school term,” he revealed.

“If I don’t beg, the youngsters also wouldn’t get any balls, rackets or transport to attend the various competitions.”

The financial setbacks aside, La Rose boasted that his camp is currently home to the National Under-15 table tennis champion.

“The team just came back from Puerto Rico and the Under-15 champion brought back a bronze medal,” he gushed.

La Rose pointed out that some of the money used to send the children abroad to the various com-petitions also came from him begging on the city streets.

The disabled man fumed that none of his teams has ever been funded, either from the State or private companies, despite their many successes.

“Nobody cares about the children of Carenage,” he insisted.

“We tried many different things to get funding but we were turned down.

“This is why I am on the streets today; this is the only way I can help my team.” La Rose gave a short history of his association with the Carenage children

“After becoming good at table tennis, I decided to put my talent to use and started teaching the sport to underprivileged children,” he recalled.

“I spread the word around that I was going to open a training camp that taught children my favourite sport and quite a few came out.

“But after teaching at a place called Caricom Centre for some five years, the building was closed down.

“I moved to several other locations, but I could not keep up with the monthly rental fees.

“However, last April, I found sanctuary in this place in Carenage and I have been based there up to this day.”

On a personal note, the Maraval resident pointed out that last year, he needed to change his foot brace and was sent to the Princes Elizabeth Home.

However, he said, when he arrived at the facility, he was told that there were no more available, and he was sent to a private doctor, who charged him $1,200.

Unable to come up with the cash, La Rose said he wrote a letter to a popular bank asking for its assistance.

But he claimed that it was only after being grilled by the bank for six months, being asked every possible question under the sun, that he received a cheque for meagre $300 from the bank.

By that time a close friend had already paid for his foot brace.

“I gave the bank their money back,” he revealed.

“What I could do with $300, if the thing cost $1,200?

“It was like they gave me nothing.”

He added: “At this stage, all I want is some funding for the tennis team because the children are extremely talented.

“In addition, tennis is an alternative to them turning to a life of crime.

“But the way the authorities are treating us is almost like a racket against the ten-nis players.”