Salt Spring Christmas tree sparks pride, unity

WESTERN BUREAU:

Residents of the once-troubled St James community of Salt Spring are looking beyond the glitz and dazzle to the groundswell of pride for having a Christmas tree in their backyard this holiday.

The six-foot-tall Christmas tree, gifted to them by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), came to life on Wednesday night as residents came out in droves to witness its lighting.

Groups of persons socialised around it as one big family inside the multimillion-dollar community park.

The residents said this year’s lighting ceremony was a first-of-its-kind experience for many who gathered for the event, commenting that it was the first time since the park was officially opened that anything of this magnitude was being held there.

Nicollette Warren said having a Christmas tree ‘uplifts’ Salt Spring, because many people continue to look down on the community.

“It feels really good, and it brings a nice atmosphere seeing people from different areas in the community who came out to celebrate the lighting ceremony,” she said.

Patricia Coombs, who lives in Crighton Heights, an adjoining community to Salt Spring, said being tasked with the responsibility of decorating the park and the Christmas Tree was a distinct pleasure.

“Having this Christmas Tree in the community is a good way of ensuring that the children in particular are able to enjoy the holidays, and that Christmas will mean something for them,” Coombs said. It has brought out a lot of people, a lot of children in general, who have never experienced a personal Christmas tree in their community. Normally, they have to go into the town in order to see one.” MILLIONS INVESTED

The holiday event was part of efforts to help re-socialise the approximately 10,000 residents who have made the community their home, and after crime and violence claimed the lives of many in previous years.

“We are happy today to see this Christmas tree-lighting event,” Mona Sue Ho, senior manager at JSIF, said.

The idea of this event, she said, “ is for us to have all the people in Salt Spring come out and celebrate, to have one cohesive unity, to come together in peace, but also to showcase the talents that are in the community”.

According to the JSIF senior manager, several million dollars has so far been invested in Salt Spring towards building out the infrastructure, to facilitate education and training and capacity-building among the residents, including providing employment for community members through an environmental programme.

Investments to date include the rehabilitation of the Salt Spring Primary School, the Safe Passage Project, and the construction of the community park. Sue Ho told The Gleaner that there are a few more projects to be implemented by JSIF in the community, among them the removal of tattered zinc fences and upgrading the road infrastructure.

Donna Wedderburn, president of the Salt Spring Community Development Council, says residents are happy to see the families bonding and celebrating in the same space, regardless of where they are from in the wider community.

“The lighting of the Christmas tree was a sight to behold, as persons came from all over the community. I am overwhelmed, the tide has changed because the Salt Spring that people once knew has changed. We are one people, one community,” Wedderburn said.

SENSE OF PRIDE AND JOY

Still basking in the sparkles and excitement of Wednesday’s Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, Wedderburn said that the event has indeed brought home a sense of pride and joy among the residents.

“The pride that we felt was something we yearned for many years ago. We really appreciate the fact that JSIF was the agency who came in and worked with the residents towards this change,” the Salt Spring CDC executive explained.

She noted that in Salt Sprint, there are countless opportunities, and that those who were afraid in the past to come to the community were among those who attended the Wednesday night event.

“The presence of the Christmas tree in the community is a sense of pride for us. We have never had anything like this, and we will be maintaining this event going forward,” Wedderburn said.

She noted that persons have even volunteered to keep the Christmas tree lights on throughout the season.