— Fort Island residents appeal for community ground and well

WITH the absence of an entertainment spot on Fort Island, residents are calling on the Government to establish a public recreation centre there to keep them fit and meaningfully occupied.

According to residents, quite a while ago, the Court of Policy compound was used as a recreation spot, but when the building was renovated, residents were barred from playing in the compound.
Since then, they told the Guyana Chronicle that they have had to deal with a lot of stored energy which they are restless to release in a cricket or football match, but they have nowhere to play.
Fort Island is a small island, and in front which is high, is a residential area. Lands behind the island are privately owned but are low.
Residents are urging the Government to purchase a parcel of the lands aback the island, empolder it, and convert it into a ground for the community.

This, they say, will be a big boost in terms of developing sporting talents on the islands which are stifled due to the absence of a sport or community facility.
Fort Island is a unique place. Despite the absence of recreational and entertainment centres to keep the residents meaningfully occupied, they do not engage in illegal activities.
The vast majority of residents of the island are East Indians.
Crime, including domestic violence, is non-existent on Fort Island and according to residents, only now and then “some people does drink and buse up one another when dem buy their rum at Parika.”

SECONDARY SCHOOL
Aside from the need for a community ground, the residents are calling on government to consider building a secondary school and dormitory, either at Morashee, Bonasika Creek, Aliki, Lanaballi or Hogg Island.
These areas are closer to the island.
The closest secondary school they say is at Parika, and the closest secondary school with dormitory is the Anna Regina Multilateral School on the Essequibo Coast.
On completion of primary school, many pupils whose parents cannot afford to send them to secondary school at Parika or have a relative there to provide boarding, drop out of school and take up careers in fishing.
Quite a few who dropped out were enrolled at the Kuru Kuru Training College.
But even though they are trained in masonry, carpentry, business management, agriculture and tailoring, among other areas, they struggle to find employment on the island.

DRY SEASON
The residents also told the Guyana Chronicle that they were elated to read in the newspapers and hear on television that the Guyana Water Authority (GWI) will be building new wells and resuscitating old ones across the country.
In the dry season, they say it is a real struggle to get potable water. The water they use is stored in black tanks and when that finishes, they have no choice but to resort to the river. However, they have to travel some distance, since the river water close to the island is usually in a muddy state.
The residents are urging GWI to visit the island and see if it can put an old, abandoned well back in operation or build a new one for the residents.
Apart from these issues, they also noted that the stelling is in a state of disrepair and needs rehabilitation. When it was in a better state, residents used to sell food and other items to speed boat operators and passengers who pass by.