Maureen Webber, Contributor

Members of the Grants Pen community in St Andrew utilise the library facilities at the police community complex, spearheaded by the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica. Critics say the area requires more long-term development initiatives.

THERE HAVE BEEN two Sunday Gleaner pieces on the community of Grants Pen in north-east St Andrew. Grants Pen is bordered on the north and south-east by a community called Acadia. I have lived in Acadia for all but four of the last 36 years. When asked where I live, I say Upper Grants Pen, because my street borders the main community in Grants Pen.

I certainly do not want to get caught in 'finger-pointing'. Grants Pen is a unique community, unique first because it is not one community; there are several communities which make up what many refer to as Grants Pen. It is unique in that after 1999 Grants Pen became the ultimate donor football with each agency trying to save what was labelled the most violent inner city in the entire Corporate Area. For the record, the police data do not support this view.

What we know for sure is that in 1998 a peace had come to Grants Pen, an area with some 8,000 residents. It came not because of international donors or external interventions; it had come more because the communities almost spontaneously said enough is enough. I recall the day of the historic march where communities just joined in and walked to Andrews Pen. What a party it was!

The 'cautious peace' started a period of access across the various communities. It set the stage for those of us who wanted to make a difference to enter, but the message from the residents was always clear - 'nothing for us without us'. Those of us who worked with the residents knew then that it was not necessarily a 'permanent peace', but it was a welcomed peace.

Commendations

Not many persons who are involved in Grants Pen development work today know much about that event, about the role of the ministers fraternal and the Stella Maris Foundation, and the sitting member of Parliament, Delroy Chuck, in supporting the holding of the peace after that march. Commendations also to the St Andrew North Division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. But, most important, not many today appreciate that it was the communities themselves that said enough is enough — the majority wanted to make peace with each other.

We also knew in 1999 that although Grants Pen had employment levels well above the national level, standing at 48 per cent, they were below the 54 per cent for other at-risk communities, such as Jones Town, Olympic Gardens and central Kingston, according to a 1999 Social Development Commission community survey. At that time Grants Pen's educational attainment levels scored higher than the national average for both male and female. This is the Grants Pen that many of us knew; we knew that with peace there was an opportunity for prosperity.

Significant work

The Stella Maris Foundation, the leading NGO, established solely to support the social and economic development of the communities in Grants Pen, was already doing significant work, but it was clear that additional resources would be critical. The sitting member of Parliament approached the Office of the Prime Minister and requested that a study and project proposals be developed for Grants Pen. The study itself did not result in immediate aid from the Government.

However, what followed next for Grants Pen offered hope to the residents. The community was targeted by international development agencies, external NGOs, the Government and the private sector. There was a virtual buffet of options.

In 2000, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), commissioned a study and accepted the findings that both Grants Pen and Standpipe Lane in the Liguanea area provided 'fertile ground' for their inner-city programme interventions. USAID committed some US$2.2 million ($156 million) to both communities. Patricia Balls, then project manager with the Kingston Restoration Company (KRC), indicates that just over a third of these funds were spent in Grants Pen.

The peace and prosperity programme, managed by the KRC, was the first external social intervention project for the residents of Grants Pen. The initiative, launched in October 2001, ended in November 2004. During that period the project launched major inter-community sporting events. We watched young people, living in once 'at-war' communities in Grants Pen play football, netball and cricket, with their supporters cheering them on. Some 316 persons were placed in sustainable jobs; entrepreneurs received unsecured loans and business development training.

When the programme ended we were left with a physical plant that today serves as a library for Grants Pen and environs. The facility has a computer lab that offers learning opportunities for all age groups. They had hoped to go on to build on the gains, but social interventions of this nature were no longer the 'flavour of the month'. USAID assumed success and went on to other initiatives.

Citizens security and justice programme

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) expended a large amount of funds on research to determine the best options for further development work in Grants Pen. The highlight of this nine-month field exercise was the high level of participation of the residents in the research. Late in 2002 and into 2003 we had corner meetings, full-blown community meetings listening to what the community wanted. We heard or had pictures drawn of what were the most important issues for the residents, what were their greatest fears.

It was clear the residents wanted a peace that would hold, they wanted economic empowerment, they wanted social infrastructure which would allow a space for their children to interact, and ongoing training opportunities. The initiative sought to provide some of these things by introducing several soft initiatives, such as critical work by the Dispute Resolution Foundation and community theatre workshops led by Sistren. The IDB initiative supported the start-up of a broad-based community development