Residents of Block ‘V’ Herstelling have come together to improve their roads for the benefit of the community.
Upon entering the community of Herstelling New Scheme, via the Mocha Main Road, which is a fully developed road, persons heading to the Herstelling Scheme, prior to the improvements, would have been appalled at the unevenness of the thoroughfares. Large pot-holes spanning more than 2 feet and quite deep were formed along almost every road at either of the Scheme’s bridges. These large holes in the road have caused some taxi-drivers to stop making drops in the area or else attach a hefty premium to the fare.
However, a group of residents in the community, recently made a collective effort to have the roads of Block ‘V’, also known as the fourth bridge in the Herstelling New Scheme, East Bank Demerara, graded with loam. The group goes by the name Care for the Community and currently comprises fourteen members. All of the members have been living in the area for many years and after realising that their cry for infrastructural development in the area was not being heard by the Government, they decided to take matters into their own hands and form a group which, with the help of other residents, would deal with issues in the community.
Now, with the roads levelled, persons can cruise along the smoothened streets with ease and not worry about their vehicles suffering damage while attempting to navigate the holes. The levelling of the road was accomplished with funds donated by the residents in the fourth bridge area who understood the necessity for the holes to be filled and the roads levelled. The unregistered community group canvassed the village for donations and after collecting about $260,000, contacted Jagmohan Construction and were loaned a grader which they used to have the roads repaired.
The newly graded roads are currently filled with loam but as for how long these roads will benefit the community, it is unknown. Don Rahim, one of the members of the group who came up with the development plan, told SN that a few days after the roads were done, it began raining in the area. “We pray for this rain to stop and not last more than that one day because we know it would have been corruption if it did keep falling,” he said. Luckily the rain did stop and while most of the roads are still level, some show signs of returning to the muddy pot-holed road it previously was. Nevertheless, the group is confident that with the work done, persons residing in the community will be just as willing as they were to get the grading done, to continue the road’s development.
Another group member, Randolph Pereira, along with Rahim expressed their gratitude to their neighbours for seeing the issues at hand and joining them. Pereira said that for years they have been writing letters, making phone calls and were not receiving any feedback. “Nobody is not going to help us, so we got to do it ourselves” he said, when asked why they decided to do the improvements on their own. His fellow group member added that there is another group in the area, who used to be in charge of overseeing community issues, but that they chose not to join them.
Rahim and Pereira also told SN that other projects have been done for the betterment of the community. They said that street lights were put up by the members, using money donated by residents and themselves. The two men say that for the Christmas season, a Christmas tree light-up was held in the community and children were given toys and stuffed animals at the event. This was also done by the Care for the Community members. The group also plans to develop what is supposed to be the community ball-field. They plan to have a fence and a tarmac built in addition to developing the entrance bridge to the Block.
Rahim mentioned that the group’s first project was done at the same ball-field. He said that the ball-field used to flood when it rained and at the time they had not yet been a group, however, they decided to use sand and loam to make a small pathway along the ball-field that persons could use as a shortcut.
The group has also been tackling the issue of the many robberies which occur in the area. They have developed a nightly patrol, which oversees the safety of the community. Unfortunately, even with the group patrolling at night, persons are still being robbed and houses broken into. In past years, the robberies have led people to leave the community, including a shop owner who was robbed countless times before he sold his house and moved away late last year.
Their hope is to continue doing the voluntary work but they are also hoping that someday the community will be properly catered to by the Government, just as other communities are, as it relates to roads and other developments.
