Bare Root could be a dangerous place. Next to Agricola and Buxton, it is one of the most notorious nests of crime which residents readily admit is frequented by bad men. Charles, a wanted man, was suspected of involvement in several brutal murders and other crimes, when law enforcement patrols cornered and killed him. But this was not an isolated incident. In March 2004, for example, the skeletal remains of an unidentified man with a bullet hole in the skull were found in a canefield near Bare Root. On other occasions, hijacked vehicles were abandoned and the settlement became a sanctuary for criminals.

By taking the initiative to go to the village to speak rather than shoot, Ms Manickchand did what many of her colleagues responsible for public safety, public health and public utilities have not dared to do. In fact, a distinguishing feature of the wave of criminal violence on the East Coast and East Bank Demerara over the past four and a half years has been the apparent abandonment of the good residents to the depredations of criminal gangs and the avoidance of direct contact by both the central and local government.

In the recent past, also, ministers seem to have chosen carefully which communities they should visit and with which victims of violence they should commiserate during times of distress. Problems ignored, however, will not solve themselves and communities neglected cannot be expected to prosper. The conditions that breed crime, and the effects of crime on the community and its children, will remain for years unless there is some action by the residents themselves with the support of the Government to create a sturdy social infrastructure and community security system.

It was President Bharrat Jagdeo who pledged to "work with communities and vulnerable groups that are preyed upon by the criminal enterprise in their recruitment drive to provide them with support and other options." It was Minister Manickchand who seems to have taken up that challenge and showed the resolve to meet residents although she does not have the resources to meet their needs.

Much of what she heard and saw was not new. Last July, a group of frustrated Bare Root residents, representing the settlement's 400 households, complained to this newspaper about their daily difficulties and of the unfulfilled promises of the previous Minister of Housing and Water to provide water and electricity.

Trying to sound cheery, Ms Manickchand told residents to take pride in the success of one of Bare Root's sons, Donovan Sullivan, who excelled at the Secondary Schools Entrance Examination (SSEE), securing a place at the President's College. Sullivan's success, she suggested, shows what can happen when young people are given an equal opportunity to excel and realise their full potential.