A drive to replace zinc fences with concrete structures is under way in Whitfield Town, an inner-city community of southwest St Andrew.The effort has brought residents of this low-income area together in a rare show of unity and pride.
Carlton Lewis, a Rastafarian, yesterday toiled in the heat of the morning sun as he tore away the zinc fence that hid his home. He told The Gleaner that the rust-coloured zinc fence that surrounded his house was erected 49 years ago. It was among many others that were demolished in this, one of the poorest communities, in Jamaica.
This sprucing of Whitfield Town is being spearheaded by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) under its Zinc Fence Removal Project, which is funded by the World Bank and the Jamaican Government.
Yesterday, representatives of the JSIF and the World Bank toured the Whitfield Town area to observe the work being done in this month-old project. Several men from the community could be seen mixing cement to lay blocks where rusty and graffiti-riddled fences once stood.
Togetherness
Badrul Haque, World Bank representative to Jamaica, told the citizens that the work being conducted on various roads of the community showed that togetherness was still alive.
Minh Pham, resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Jamaica, and other members of the donor agency, were also present yesterday.
They used the opportunity to commemorate International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
Portia Simpson Miller, member of parliament for the area, told the residents that the long-term aim for the community involved remodelling many of the dilapidated homes which existed in the area.
"What I want is for everyone to join together in this community-development drive as we try to improve the living conditions," said Simpson Miller, opposition leader and president of the People's National Party.
Charlene Henry, a resident of Kidd Lane, was happy that attention was finally being paid to the aesthetics of her community.
"This is a very good move," she said.
