ONE-MINUTE READS ... News from across Jamaica

Holness opens road three years after completion

The rehabilitation of the Epworth rural feeder road in St Ann is said to have resulted in an approximately 25 per cent increase in crop production due to enhanced access to and mobility across the rural community.

The three-kilometre parochial road, which was rehabilitated three years ago, was officially opened by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Friday.

Work on road was spearheaded by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) at a cost of $109 million. The project was financed under the Caribbean Development Bank's (CDB) Basic Needs Trust Fund.

Holness said that Epworth is a "community in the truest sense", as residents have taken ownership of the new infrastructure and are protecting it with pride and dignity. He said the Government is also aware of the other challenges affecting the community, citing water shortage and rehabilitation of another stretch of road among these, while promising that these will be appropriately addressed.

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Sherlock Crescent enjoys cultural centre

Residents of Sherlock Crescent in Kingston are already feeling the benefits of the recently established Sherlock Community Cultural Centre, which is serving as a vital resource facility, while promoting closer bonds among the citizens.

The building was constructed at a cost of $46.6 million. Construction commenced March 2021 and was completed within eight months. The multipurpose facility, which measures approximately 5,000 square feet, includes an event hall with stage area, a room that can facilitate a music studio, a homework centre, office, kitchen, and bathroom facilities, as well as a computer centre which was furnished this year with three computers, six desks, and chairs. Perimeter fencing was installed in 2022.

The project was financed by the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund at a cost of $49 million.

Yanique Passmore, assistant secretary for the Sherlock Crescent Citizens Association, said the centre is a significant asset as it will enable children in the area to have an easily accessible, safe place to get assistance with their assignments.

"I think the centre will benefit the community in a very positive way because parents, like myself, will appreciate that our children have somewhere safe to go to do their homework. We are thinking of putting in a homework centre where you will have persons coming to assist the kids," she said, noting also that the space will facilitate various community events.

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Water boost for Clarendon South East communities

Mitchell Town and surrounding communities in Clarendon South East are now receiving a reliable water supply as a result of a $25-million upgrading project, financed by the National Water Commission (NWC) and the National Housing Trust NHT).

The project was selected under an initiative announced in 2017, where 100 communities, which were built in the first 10 years of the NHT's existence, would be upgraded from a multibillion-dollar national programme for infrastructure transformation.

The NHT contributed $3.7 million, and the NWC invested $22 million in upgrade of the system. Some communities to be served include Mitchell Town, New Town Phases 1 and 2, Monymusk Housing Scheme, Lionel Town, Rocky Point, and Portland Cottage.

Pearnel Charles Jr, member of parliament for Clarendon South East, said the upgrade was necessary as residents were not getting a consistent supply of water in their pipes.

"This is an exciting time, and we appreciate it. This is a big and important step in the right direction, as it will facilitate other developments in the communities," Charles Jr said.

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'Children Need our Love and Protection'

Jamaicans are being charged to create systems of protection and care around the nation's children, so that harm does not befall them.

Children's Advocate Diahann Gordon Harrison made the call as she addressed the National Child Month Committee (NCMC) media launch of Child Month 2023 last Wednesday at the GraceKennedy Corporate Offices, downtown Kingston.

"It should be a thing in the past, for instance, where a child confides in a parent or a caregiver that something has gone wrong, and out of loyalty to the perpetrator we urge that child to be quiet because 'this too shall pass'," she said.

Child Month will be observed in May under the theme 'Children Need our Love and Protection ... Get Involved'.

Kennedy Davidson, assistant chief education officer in the Guidance and Counselling Unit of the Ministry of Education and Youth, said that this year's theme is a call for all Jamaicans to consciously recommit to protecting and caring for children.

"It is a call for us to ensure that our children access and benefit from educational offerings and programmes geared at improving not just their academic outcomes but their holistic development," she said.