THE Department of Culture, Youth and Sport of the Ministry of Education on Friday handed over three recreational grounds to communities within Georgetown.

Two new recreational grounds were commissioned in Guyhoc Park and North East La Penitence respectively; while one in Freeman Street, East La Penitence was rehabilitated and re-commissioned, all to the tune of $4.5M.

Minister within the Ministry of Education, Nicolette Henry, told residents who gathered at the Guyhoc Park ground that the projects may appear simple, but they are significant and symbolic.

“The idea really is to provide a space (wherein) persons can come together for purposes such as meeting space, whether you’re young or whether not so young. It’s also an area that can be used for sport…to ensure that young people in particular have safe communities in which they can meet, and they can play, and they can understand the principles that really govern sports,” the minister said.

She also noted that the recreational facilities serve to enhance social cohesion.

Noting that $1.5M were spent on each ground, the minister said works done included land-filling and installation of lights and proper seating.

Speaking with the media after the commissioning ceremony, she said the project is part of a broader initiative which was started years ago to enhance all grounds across the country.

“It is my expectation and my understanding that the bigger grounds will be opened before the end of the year,” she said, as she noted that $8M have been spent on the larger grounds that are to be fully prepared by yearend in Regions 4, 5, and 6, as well as in some hinterland communities.

In the case of hinterland projects, the Ministry of Education will be partnering with the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs to ensure the needs of those communities are addressed.

The project is being done on two levels, since some grounds already have basic infrastructure while some are just undeveloped open spaces.

“Before you begin to improve on the quality of the ground, once they have reached the minimum standard, we want to ensure that the grounds that are below the minimum standards are addressed; and once we are able to get all the grounds that we recognize that we will be working on to minimum standards, we will go beyond that to do upgrading of those,” Minister Henry told the media.

Minister Henry welcomed partnerships in executing the projects, noting that through collaborative work much more can be achieved.

“We’re happy to partner with any agency, any ministry that is aligned with our programme,” she stated.

The Ground Enhancement Project will provide improvement in facilities throughout Guyana, with Government ensuring that all “grounds meet a minimum standard,” she explained.
“There should be light if you want to have after-hour activities; the ground should be levelled; where filling is needed, that should be done…and once we’re able to ensure that they meet that minimum standard, then we can move beyond,” she explained.

Meanwhile, a resident of Guyhoc Park, Samantha (only name provided), described the ground as “a beautiful transformation,” while stating: “I’ve lived here for years and I’ve never dreamed that one day this area would have turned to something like this.”

Also present at the commissioning were City Mayor Patricia Chase-Green; Director of Sport, Christopher Jones; and Randolph Critchlow, Community Liaison Officer and Coordinator of the Community Ground Enhancement Project.