‘A growing desire to be of service to my village’

A YOUNG woman with a throbbing heart for her village, Dellon Adams, was born and raised in the Ann’s Grove village, some 30 kilometres from Georgetown. She attended nursery and primary school in the village and, then advanced to the Bishops’ High School in Georgetown in the year 1986.

Having grown up with love and respect for the place of her birth, Adams told the Pepperpot Magazine that she always had the desire to see her village excel and become one of the best within the district, and by extension one of the better ones in the country as a whole.

She noted that the village of Ann’s Grove is rife with activities, many of which are geared towards the development of villagers, and even persons from the extended villages within the district. Ann’s Grove is part of the Grove/Haslington district.

COMMUNITY SERVICE
“Officially, I started doing community service in the village of Ann’s Grove as the secretary of the football club in 2014. At the same time, with assistance from the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA), myself and Pastor Roxanne Hanover were able to launch the Ann`s Grove parenting group.

“This parenting group sought to assist young parents in the community, which may gear them to be economically-empowered, as well as with other programmes. We were able to roll off teaching sessions on parenting skills with facilitators from the CCPA. In addition, we were also able to offer help in the area of domestic violence, with the help of the Gender Violence Unit from the Ministry of Social Protection.”

She stated that business is also considered a very important component of development within the Ann’s Grove village, and so with the help of the Ministry of the Presidency training was organised for persons within the village.
Further, a health fair, under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Health was also conducted within the village.

SOCIAL COHESION
Ann’s Grove also boasts of a Social Cohesion group. This group is known as the “Greenfield/Dochfour/Two Friends/Ann`s Grove Harmony Group”, and is supported by the Ministry of Social Cohesion.

The coordinator of the group is Minister Daphne Higgins. Their signature event for last year was an awards ceremony, for all the students who would have excelled academically (CSEC and the National Grade Six exams) and in Sports. Prizes and trophies were given to the recipients.

SOCIOCULTURAL ACTIVITIES
Adams explained that the village of Ann’s Grove had many social and cultural activities throughout the years, but during 2018, there were a number of programmes launched, which served to stimulate the interest of both the young and old people of the village; both males and females.

KITE MAKING
“We hosted a Kite Camp last Easter with donations from Dr. Barton Scotland, the Speaker of the National Assembly and Ashley Hinds of Hinds’Establishment. Children and their parents were invited to make these kites from scratch. The objective was to provide a forum for bonding between the children and their parents and even elders in the community.

VILLAGE DAY RUN
Through the Football Club, a Village Day Run was also organised to commemorate Emancipation Day – this is a regular occurrence within the village. For this occasion and for this event, the Department of Youth and Culture provides partial funding.
As part of the activities for the day, a brief history of the village is read, and prizes and trophies are given to the winners in the various categories of the race. These categories are from Under 9 to Over 50.

The Pepperpot Magazine was told that villagers assemble in their numbers to view the run-off events for the day. This event also attracts participants from neighbouring villages and as far as the village of Mahaica.

MASQUERADE GROUP
The village also has a masquerade group which participates in cultural activities in and out of the village. The members of the group are both males and females and the group is led by Mr. Barry known as “MoMo”.

The oldest persons in the village are also regularly recognised in an outreach event. Just recently, one of the oldest persons in the village, Mr. Clonmell, who has attained the age of 96 years, was recognised.

Adams stated that the youth in the village are also seriously considered, especially as it relates to their academic and social development. In this regard, the youths were also exposed to ‘Work Ready Training’, which was conducted by SKYE, an organisation funded by USAID. This group is the Specialists in Sustained Youth Development and Research (SSYDR).

Adams noted that she played an integral part in all of these activities, noting that the parenting group, skills training and the kite camp were wholly her initiatives.
“God has provided persons in and out of the community who are willing to work with us. At the same time, I continue to see the need to help my fellow villagers, despite not being a bit more privileged. Yet, my personal conviction is that changing one’s life can change an entire community. I need to be the change I want to see,” she confidently stated.