Hanover’s Cacoon establishes community office to open new doors

WESTERN BUREAU:

Residents of Cacoon in Hanover have established a Community Development Committee (CDC) office to open new doors of opportunities for them in the rural district.

The office, which is expected to benefit adjoining districts as well, was established through financial assistance from several government agencies and other organisations.

In an interview with The Gleaner, Tova-Malka Trench Anderson, the Social Development Commission’s (SDC) parish manager for Hanover, urged other communities in the parish to draw inspiration from Cacoon and to take similar steps to strengthen their community organisations.

“We encourage them to make use of available government and other funding opportunities and invest in initiatives that improve the quality of life of their residents,” she said, adding that the SDC stands ready to support the establishment and strengthening of such local community groups.

“The SDC commends the Cacoon CDC for its leadership, partnership, and commitment to community development. They are a model civil society organisation in the parish of Hanover, and their accomplishment in establishing an office facility demonstrates what can be achieved when citizens take ownership of the development of their community,” she said.

Interim chairman for the St James Justice of the Peace Association, Leroy Grey, who spoke at the opening of the facility, noted that CDCs play a critical role in the improvement of a community, including creating access to training in several areas in a managed environment.

“I call on all the community members in this Cacoon area to work at preserving and protecting the asset of this new office facility so that it can serve the community for a very long time,” he stated. “There is the need to ensure that succession planning is in place, so that when the current set of managers and organisers gets weary, there will be enough persons in waiting to take the baton and run with it.”

Grey also urged residents to seek to identify community members with the requisite to serve in a leadership capacity, which is key to having a sustainable CDC.

“I am calling on the community members to be on the look out and try to identify potential young talents within your community and support them through their educational endeavours,” he said. “It is only through having educated citizens that the community and the nation will be able to develop positively.”

Grey also lauded the efforts the community put into establishing the office facility, which he said has created a single point of contact for the community, through which programmes, national and otherwise, can be coordinated, while improving their access to information.

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