Residents say neglected Cheswick at a standstill

An unfinished and abandoned community centre, on which construction work was halted for reasons unknown, stands as a stark metaphor for the entire district of Cheswick in St Thomas, which residents painfully lament has been neglected for years.

Timothy Melbourne, a farmer who relocated to the neighbourhood 12 years ago, bemoaned that there were not enough job opportunities for youth in the area.

“When youth a lef school, nothing nah gwaan. Weh di work deh for the youths dem? When the youth dem siddung, people say dem lazy and wukless, but nothing nuh deh ya fi dem do,” he said.

Melbourne said the community has been at a standstill, made worse by the fact that many people lost their primary source of income when the Golden Grove Sugar Factory ceased operation in 2019 and laid off some 150 workers.

“Dem haffi a buy one goat, one cow, some chicken fi gwaan raise so income can come. Is a lot of pressure,” he said. “You see the two likkle ackee tree and breadfruit tree? A dem save people a lot a time, so when the ackee tree a come in, people can sell a bag a ackee or sell 100 or 50 breadfruit.”

Melbourne told The Gleaner that the predominantly agricultural community was in dire need of social intervention programmes to help steer the youth to a more hopeful future and equip them with skills to become successful entrepreneurs.

“We fi have one likkle training school ‘round here weh can train some youth to do a likkle computer, and things technology-wise because a technology a run the world right now,” he emphasised.

Sofia Williams, a mother of three, lamented the distance which she and other parents had to travel – up to three miles – to enrol their children in a basic school or at Duckenfield Primary or Dalvey Primary. They are calling for a basic school to be established in the community for ease of access.

“Right now, fi wi district a one a di worst district inna di country,” a male resident reflected, adding that the completion of the community centre would help to lift the spirits of the youth.

“Right now, we wah form one police youth club for Cheswick. Cheswick a di only district weh no have a police youth club cah we no have noweh fi keep the meeting,” Williams said, strengthening the point.

Local Government and Rural Development Minister Desmond McKenzie on Tuesday toured the district to see first-hand the needs of the residents.

He was accompanied by St Thomas Eastern Member of Parliament Dr Michelle Charles and representatives from two state agencies – the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and Rural Water Supply Limited (RWSL).

McKenzie gave a commitment to complete the community centre and build a basic school.

He further disclosed that JSIF had already identified 100 households to shortly supply with electricity under the Rural Electrification Programme (REP).

“We are no longer just going to retrofit 100 houses and just leave it just like that. The Jamaica Public Service Company will come in at the beginning of the process and they will be a part of the discussions with JSIF and Rural Electrification on the rewiring of these houses to make these people eligible to be connected officially to the Jamaica Public Service system,” he said.

Six homes will also be built in the district for residents in need under the Social Housing Development Programme, with the Poor Relief Department of the St Thomas Municipal Corporation already commencing the process to identify the beneficiaries.

McKenzie noted that a similar transformation project launched earlier this year in Chambers Pen, Hanover, has been progressing well, adding that the newly built Chambers Pen Primary School would be ready for opening this month as the new school year begins.

Under the $300-million pilot project, Chambers Pen is being given a reliable water supply through a $30-million initiative by RWSL, $100 million in road improvement works, four homes under the social housing programme for $28 million, and the wiring of 300 households for electricity for $27 million.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com