A SMALL southern community is taking matters into its own hands by forming a group that promises to advocate for all things progressive for the area.
The Anse Ger Development Foundation is well underway and the group, headed by building surveyor, James Joseph has set its sights on a number of issues, namely education, social needs and infrastructure
Joseph said so far, the group consists of 17 members but is looking to expand that number to 50 by the time of their first meeting at the end of December.
He said although the community is in the same state as every other developing community in St. Lucia, it is up to residents to step up and shed light on the issues that are in urgent need of attention.
One of the first areas Joseph said the group plans tackling is education. He said a lot of attention is needed in that aspect including special attention to the secondary school that is in need of upgrading.
The main issue, he said, however, is the incidents of loitering by students. James said there is a major problem with students loitering even during school hours: “It’s time that measures are put in place to stop this. We plan to see that the school is well fed with those students. That also means that we can get to the police, alert them and get these students in the school.”
Joseph, who said that he lives close to the school, said he knows and sees what is going on and being a Justice of the Peace as well, it is within his jurisdiction to impress upon the group that it’s part of their duty to tackle this problem.
The group is looking into starting an adult literacy programme for the area.
Joseph said; “We’ve identified a need for especially the middle aged and older individuals to be able to write their names because they’re still having to go to the banks and these places and it’s so awkward and embarrassing for our villagers not to be able to do something as basic as writing their names and to fill a form.”
Another major issue in need of serious attention according to Joseph, was lawlessness in the community.
Joseph said as a group, the foundation would strongly recommend the presence of the police with regular patrols: “We need more police/community interaction in the form of a town hall meeting etc. We’ve never had one and that is all the reason why the community is going astray and there is such lack of respect for the law.”
Where infrastructure is concerned, Joseph said a massive headache faced by the community is the lack of sidewalks. He said: “I believe in roads having sidewalks for pedestrians. It’s time that we take this matter very seriously that the road is incomplete without a sidewalk. Designers and authorities need to understand this. There are too many accidents that can otherwise be avoided if roads have sidewalks. There is enough space for them and that’s what hurts me most.”
