Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter
Left: The Shelter Rock community in Spanish Town, St. Catherine. Right: Youngsters playing in the community of Dirt Lane in Central Village, St. Catherine. - PHOTOS BY RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
FIVE OF the most impoverished, violence-torn areas in Spanish Town, St. Catherine are among the 12 inner-city communities across the island set to benefit from a $2 billion facelift project.
The project is being carried out by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) under the Inner-City Basic Services Project (ICBSP) to improve the quality of life in these communities.
Government obtained funds from the World Bank to finance the project and an additional $167.4 million is to be procured for it to be carried out.
The Spanish Town communities are Central Village, Tawes Pen, Africa, Shelter Rock and Lauriston.
The Gleaner paid a visit to these communities yesterday to find out from the residents, how they felt about the impending investment and the ways in which they believed the money could best be spent.
On a dirt road in Central Village in an area fittingly called Dirt Lane, the news team caught up with Stacey-Ann Mulgrave. She is in her mid-20s and has spent her entire life living right there on Dirt Lane.
HAPPY
"Boy I really happy to hear that we getting some help around here," she said. "You can see how the place stay. People shouldn't live like this. If they really help uplift the community it would be really good."
We were standing on a tiny driveway which runs between two lines of zinc fences.
The biggest problem as far as Stacey-Ann in concerned, is the lighting in the area.
"We are in Spanish Town and you know how that is already. Sometimes when I'm coming home late I get really nervous. Any help in that area would be good."
The JSIF project will upgrade water supply distribution systems, sanitation and solid waste collection systems. It will also aim to regularise electricity, street lighting; improve drainage, secondary and tertiary roads, and construct community multi-purpose and recreational facilities.
In Shelter Rock, which is about a mile from Central Village, the residents are hoping for a recreational facility.
"That is what we really need. It will help cut down on the idle thing. The youths need something to do and that will help us out good," said Kenton, a shop owner and resident of the area. He, like many others in the community, is excited about the prospects for the community upliftment programme, but remains cautious as he waits to see if this plan comes to fruition, unlike several others before.
"We hear about these things before and they don't work out, so you never know," he said. "From what I hear about this one though, it seems like it will work out. We happy fi see that they remember us still, we really happy and hope it work out."
In Tawes Pen, an area which has made headlines on countless occasions for the violence that has clutched the area for several years now, the residents also adopted a wait and see attitude.
"Bwoy we give thanks if its true. What we need is some better schools and more employment opportunities. We need help with water. We still haffi use pan fi catch water. Dem thing deh nuh right," said an elderly gentleman who refused to give his name.
The 12 communities slated to benefit through the project were selected through a prioritisation exercise that took into consideration the levels of basic services in these areas, strength of community organisations and levels of crime and violence.
Through partnership with existing micro-finance entities, the ICBSP will also facilitate access to micro-finance for community members who want to start or expand existing businesses. At a later stage this component will also provide funding for incremental home improvement for residents.
To ensure its interventions will be sustainable, the ICBSP has signed a memorandum of understanding with key service providers such as the National Water Commission, the National Solid Waste Management Authority and at least three parish councils.
Similar agreements are to be signed with other stakeholders and with communities outlining the obligations and responsibilities of the parties.
