This week we asked the people of Victoria village, East Coast Demerara about some of the issues affecting the community. Their responses follow:
Norma Craigwell, pensioner – ‘There is no kind of activities. Long ago they had YSM and clubs and games and a park for the young people. I find the village quite alright but there is the little petty thieving. We really don’t have that much prevalent. I really think they can do more for this village given its history.’
Kadien Elliot, student – ‘I really want a library to educate more young people because after school you would see the young people playing marble and so on. I want a library so that it can keep them after school and they can come and do their homework and get tutoring and so on.’
Kenneth Hamilton, farmer – ‘The constant flood that has been going on is really affecting us. The serious deterioration of our roads even though they have been recently done is another problem and so far that is it.’
Maylene Alexander, housewife – ‘We need a lot of help. There are a lot of single parents in the community who can use the help. We need to come together and clean our drains and such in this community. The place needs a lot of cleaning.’
Trevlyn George, housewife – ‘The flooding is a serious problem it is really affecting the farmers in this community. That is the major problem but you know this is a very nice area to live in.’
Winslow George, pensioner – ‘Right now I am not seeing a lot of problems because all of our trenches are clean every month but only for the young people to go back into farming. Right now we got good roads and everything but right now the middle walk dam down in the farming area need a little bit cleaning. The farmer right now suffering a lot because it get a disease on the plantain and it drying up the leaves. That is all we suffering right now.’
Lennox Josiah, farmer – ‘The community need a lot of development. We need a farm-to-market road where you can go straight to the market instead of having to catch public transportation. We now have a Water Users Association and since they take over we get an improvement in the drainage. They clean the drains every month.’
Marcey Whitney, housewife – ‘We need a good road. We need proper water. We are having a water shortage, we are getting water but it is not running properly. There is need for help to do something about employment in the village. There are a lot of boys going about and getting themselves in problems. Jobs are needed for the children who finish school.’
Ivor Murray, rice farmer – ‘One of the main problems we have in this village mainly is water. Some parts of the village like the west and east Sideline Dam is not getting water. The main reason for this is because a few years ago the water main in the West Sideline Dam broke when a bulldozer was working in the area. They break the main and leave it just like that and GWI has done nothing about it even though I personally called to report it.’
William Frank, self employed – ‘A proper drainage system is needed in Victoria Backdam or what they call Victoria south. There is a community centre here for the young people but it needs a lot of work. There is also plenty unemployment in the village. A nice little trade for young people is needed.’