–    collaboration among all stakeholders needed for the community to advance
Princeville Community, at Mainstay/ Whyaka in Region Two (Pomeroon/ Supenaam), provides a life of contentment and little complaints, according to the residents there, the primary bugbear being a lack of employment opportunities.

The community was established through a collaboration among the Government of Guyana , Food for the Poor Inc, and Roetheli Lil’ Red Foundation. The aim was to provide housing, commerce, education and water and sanitation in Mainstay/ Whyaka. The project saw the construction of 65 houses and sanitary blocks and one trading store, among other efforts.
Currently, a pineapple processing plant is under construction and is expected to be completed soon, but not many residents are optimistic of finding work there.

Mr. Benedict Morris told the Guyana Chronicle that the community, which is mere minutes from the popular Lake Mainstay, is the ideal place to live, with the exception of the difficulties with employment.
“I am a labourer working on the coast.  I only come home on weekends,” he said.
Morris noted that he is attempting to clear his land so as to engage in crop production, if not at a commercial level then at a subsistence level.
“You have to do something. These days you need money to do things. The garden should help me and my family…the only employment they have is what will be when the pineapple plant opens, but that would not be work for me because the pay might not be much,” he said.
His wife Verda seemed more optimistic about getting employment at the plant.
“I am a housewife and apart from the garden, my working at the plant would be a boost to the income we have,” she said.

Mrs. Morris explained that the provision of homes in the community gave a much needed sense of security to several families.
“We never owned our own home so we were thankful for this. The only problem we have now is the jobs, but we are coping as best we can,” she said.

Moving Forward

According to her, the other aspects of life, such as quality of healthcare and education, in Princeville, reflect the cooperation that exists among the residents.
“We do things together for the community’s interest,” she said.
However, the resident stressed that there is a need for other stakeholders to come on board if the Princeville community is to move forward.
Mrs. Morris observed that the level of education in Princeville is good, but there is a need for additional trained teachers to bolster the efforts being made at the nursery and primary schools.
For secondary level education the students usually go out to the coast.
“We have a permanent health worker here, but no medex, which is something we need…the medex we have, is a person who comes over to us every Tuesday from Lima Sands,” she said.
Mrs. Morris opined that the distance of the community from the coast is what causes the difficulties, such as the cost of basic groceries, which is marked up because of the transportation cost.
“It is cheaper for me to travel to the coast and buy groceries than it is to get goods here,” she said, “We are grateful for the support to have homes, but maybe with a little more support, the poor people here can have something more.”

Another resident, Mr. Bennett John, reiterated these sentiments and said he is employed as a labourer and keeping up with the cost of living is sometimes taxing.
“Here many people do farming, so you can get work on the bigger farms,” he said.
John agreed that with additional support Princeville community’s advancement can be accelerated.
“This is a good place, a good place to raise your children and things like that,” John posited.

A newcomer to the community, Mr. Ronald Johnson, told the Guyana Chronicle that he has only been in the community for about two months, but has been impressed with life there.    “I came from Corentyne and met a girl and got married and stayed here,” he said.
According to him, there is much potential in the community, which he described as filled with hardworking, open and friendly people.

“We have a nice community here. There is no fuss like you have on the coast, but we want more development,” a young mother, Mrs. Vimala Peters said.
She noted that there is a sense of cooperation, which will augur well if the community has support from different agencies to propel development.