Transforming neglected communities
Editorial
Guyana Chronicle
July 17, 2003
YOUNGSTERS from several neighborhoods in West Ruimveldt constituted a large part of the audience that witnessed the opening of a $15 million community center there by President Jagdeo yesterday.
They might not have fully grasped the meaning of the center’s opening. But their being there, either alone or in the company of their parents or guardians, underscored the impact that the transformation of neglected suburban and rural communities is going to have on young Guyanese.
We make much ado about the absence of infrastructures, utility services and other mechanisms that rate the socioeconomic level of particular communities. And we should.
But political rhetoric apart, our leaders should see the transformation of neglected communities across Guyana as a nonpartisan commitment.
That the opening of the West Ruimveldt Community Center took place on the heels of the launching of the UNDP’s 2003 Human Development Report and the visit here by United Nations Rapporteur on Racism and Xenophobia, Doudou Diene, says a lot about the Government’s agenda for providing equal opportunities for all Guyanese.
Naturally, much more has to be done.
Until the turn of the last decade, most Guyanese dwelt in communities where existing school facilities were deteriorating and falling into disrepair, leaving policymakers to confront a perplexing question: How to build new
schools and renovate old facilities so they fit into more advanced communities?
The good news is that we have the capabilities to build new and renovate existing schools in ways that will solve the problems facing many of our communities. And Government has been meeting the challenge to build energy-efficient schools with state-of-the-art technology and other features that make them better, healthier, learning-conducive places.
But as vital as they are to a nation’s development, schools form only part of providing people with the potential to revitalize and transform their communities.
We are therefore pleased to hear from President Jagdeo that Government is consulting with the Inter-American Development Bank to help fund an initiative to equip schools, community centers, and other public facilities with Internet-ready computers.
When that happens, we hope our schools will be centers not only for educating children, but for meeting other community needs as well.
We can spend an inordinate amount of time identifying and casting blame for the often daunting roadblocks to development in communities around the country.
There may be some virtue in that. But whether or not venting criticisms can be placed in perspective, a virtuous approach to addressing neglect in neglected or slower-to-develop areas in the country would be for our neighborhood, regional and national leaders to come together with residents and devise and implement insightful solutions to their problems.
As one international scholar puts it, “Sustainable development, which integrates the social, economic and environmental factors in decision-making, must become the central organizing principle underpinning our society.”