Haddo in need of development

Despite its pleasing rural charm, Haddo in Westmoreland is a community in crisis. Due to the lack of adequate economic infrastructure and job opportunities, many of its young people are forced to look beyond its borders for employment, causing a brain drain in the area.

While the residents believe that Haddo has the potential for major development, they believe that the ongoing emigration of the community's most educated and talented individuals will undermine its capacity to grow, economically.

However, the people believe that Haddo has the potential for major development given the right minds and investments.

"We nuh find a lot of business in the community except for just the supermarket there so and shops," Blanford Vanreel, who resides in the community, told the WESTERN STAR. "The community needs investment, especially for the young people."

While he continues to reside in his beloved Haddo, Vanreel has had to travel outside of the community to find work, something the vast majority of the young men in the community have refused to do.

"It is just a few people go out to work, mostly the young girls," said vendor Carmen Greg. "The boys dem usually stay here, and I, don't like that. We need some job opportunities for them and even a skills-training centre, where they can learn to do something because if they have a skill, then they will be able to go out and seek work."

SHUNNED AGRICULTURE

While the community has available land, which could be used for farming, the young men have shunned agriculture, dismissing it as a viable way to earn a living.

In terms of infrastructure, the residents believe that the community would be well served by amenities such as a pharmacy, a community centre, and a postal agency.

"I think we would need, like, a pharmacy here in the community instead of having to head to Sav (Savanna-la-Mar), which is several miles away," a resident said. "Can you imagine having to pay more than $200 in bus fare to go to Sav to buy medication for $300?"

The residents of Haddo also want the authorities to address the perennial problem of bad roads and the chronic water problem.

"Sometimes, we have to pay upwards of $3,000 for water from the water trucks," said a resident, who wants their Member of Parliament, Dwayne Vaz, and the National Water Commission to address the situation. "Most of us have to depend on the rain, or we have to beg those who have tanks for water."