Chairman and managing director of the Gleaner Company Ltd. Oliver Clarke (left) with Custos of Kingston Canon Weeville Gordon and Dr. Carol Archer, head of the Urban and Regional Planning Division at the University of Technology (UTech). They were at yesterday's breakfast meeting of the Voluntary Social Organisation at The Gleaner's offices, North Street, Kingston, where development plans for Allman Town were discussed. - Ian AllenRESIDENTS OF Allman Town, an underdeveloped section of Kingston, have embarked on a major project to transform their community.
The Gleaner Company Ltd-co-ordinated initiative is being implemented in association with the University of Technology (UTech) and several voluntary organisations working in Allman Town and its environs.
Elon Beckford, of the Voluntary Social Organisation, told a breakfast meeting at The Gleaner yesterday that the work of the various organisations would be co-ordinated in order to ensure better results. Allman Town, he said, was being used as a model project to provide leadership for other communities.
The meeting heard that under the Allman Town Redevelop-ment Plan, emphasis would be placed on creating jobs, improving infrastructure, skills training and improving the level of literacy.
Dr. Carol Archer, head of the Urban and Regional Planning Division at UTech, is heavily involved in the project. She wrote the development plan with residents after she was approached by them for assistance. Dr. Archer said the people of Allman Town were not prepared to wait for government help. "The people of Allman Town are going to make things happen," she said.
She said the residents plan was taken to the Foundation for International Training, a subsidiary of the Canadian Inter-national Development Agency (CIDA), which agreed to provide about J$900,000.
The meeting also heard that as part of the project, loans of up to $100,000 each would become available through Access Capital; and the City of Kingston Credit Union's marketing manager Dennis Hickey said that the credit union is expected to approve an outreach budget at its next annual general meeting. He suggested those behind the Allman Town Redevelopment Plan indicate areas in which assistance was needed ahead of the April meeting.
Victor Cummings, Councillor of the Allman Town Division of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC), praised The Gleaner's involvement, endorsed the redevelopment project, and advocated urgent attention to the improvement of National Heroes Circle; Bentley Jones of Caribbean Broilers spoke about his company's involvement in the community; and Joan McDonald, of the Jamaica Red Cross, noted work which had taken place in the community by the agency which included the construction of toilets.
Also speaking at the meeting was chairman and managing director of the Gleaner Company Ltd. Oliver Clarke, who said the newspaper would not be involved with the implementation of the project.
"We are not going to initiate the major activities ... our role is to bring people together," he said.
Another meeting of the Voluntary Social Organisation is set for next month in Allman Town.
